Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Price

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price objective trimmed by Bank of America from $100.00 to $75.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on EL. Barclays decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.18.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of EL traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.58. 11,486,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,365,223. The business has a 50 day moving average of $90.09 and a 200 day moving average of $106.42. The company has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 118.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $63.36 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,094.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 146,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,606,000 after acquiring an additional 134,371 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 10.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 603,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,079,000 after buying an additional 55,193 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $306,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 51,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,925,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.