Barclays Boosts Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target to $150.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its target price upped by Barclays from $146.00 to $150.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Estée Lauder Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $168.17.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.7 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $147.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $102.22 and a 1-year high of $250.63. The company has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 113.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.23.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at about $11,939,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.3% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 15.1% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Values Added Financial LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.0% during the first quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 21.8% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.