The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Up 7.1% in December

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,590,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 8,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $77.86 on Tuesday. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.04, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.76 and its 200 day moving average is $85.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on EL. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. 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. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.55.

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.