The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.92.

Several research firms have recently commented on EL. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Fribourg sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.17, for a total transaction of $5,693,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 417,300 shares in the company, valued at $40,966,341. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total transaction of $802,383.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 14,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,365.24. This trade represents a 35.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 75,105 shares of company stock worth $7,423,185 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 950.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,843,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $993,567,000 after purchasing an additional 12,526,471 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $134,551,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 910.3% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 707,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,792,000 after purchasing an additional 637,641 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,909,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,074,000 after purchasing an additional 482,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 1,629.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 412,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,572,000 after purchasing an additional 388,711 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock opened at $109.35 on Friday. Estee Lauder Companies has a one year low of $66.22 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.36 and its 200 day moving average is $91.92. The stock has a market cap of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 223.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.07. Estee Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. Estee Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Estee Lauder Companies will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Estee Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 285.71%.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) is a global prestige beauty company that develops, markets and sells skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair-care products. Its portfolio includes brands such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Tom Ford Beauty, Le Labo and The Ordinary.

Founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder, the company began with four skincare products and has expanded into a multinational beauty business. Its products are sold through department and specialty stores, beauty retailers, brand-operated stores, e-commerce platforms, salons, spas and other distribution channels.

The Estée Lauder Companies serves consumers in markets across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.