Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Raised to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $131.00 price objective on the stock.

EL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Estée Lauder Companies from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $149.63.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

EL opened at $100.71 on Wednesday. Estée Lauder Companies has a one year low of $95.87 and a one year high of $183.20. The company has a market cap of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.52.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total value of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,598.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 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.