Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $63.00 to $71.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.29% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.42. 1,245,417 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,032,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. Estée Lauder Companies has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.79 billion, a PE ratio of 138.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cove Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 19,105.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 7,642 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.