The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $168.17.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.6 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $144.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.07. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $102.22 and a 1-year high of $250.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $11,939,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Values Added Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.