Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Receives “Buy” Rating from DA Davidson

DA Davidson reiterated their buy rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $81.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $65.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.03. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 24.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 28.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $14,589,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 294.1% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

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.