The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) to Issue $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

Estée Lauder Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 21.0% annually over the last three years. Estée Lauder Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 91.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Estée Lauder Companies to earn $3.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.5%.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock opened at $68.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. Estée Lauder Companies has a 52-week low of $63.36 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.