JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $74.00 to $79.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. HSBC lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.64.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 4.7 %

NYSE:EL opened at $78.03 on Thursday. Estée Lauder Companies has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.24 and a 200-day moving average of $85.89. The company has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a PE ratio of 139.33, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.