Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target Lowered to $60.00 at UBS Group

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $75.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $54.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of -27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $149.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $1,789,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,555,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $199,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently 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.