The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of EL opened at $148.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.54, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.07. Estée Lauder Companies has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $255.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.08%.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.