Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $80.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $105.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on EL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.82.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.58. 4,360,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,331,626. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.91. The company has a market capitalization of $24.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.66, a P/E/G 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 244.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,714.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EL. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,555 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares in 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 institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

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.