Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Price Up 6% After Analyst Upgrade

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)’s share price was up 6% during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $74.00 to $79.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Estée Lauder Companies traded as high as $79.00 and last traded at $79.00. Approximately 1,766,343 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 2,891,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.52.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 7.8% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 2,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 7.1% in the third quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, William Allan Corp increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.59, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.02 and its 200 day moving average is $85.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 250.00%.

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.