Estee Lauder Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:EL)

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 9,268 call options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 5,717 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 258.7% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 391 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE EL traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,932,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,632,542. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Estee Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -147.69, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.11.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.21% and a positive return on equity of 17.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -280.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on EL. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.76.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company’s portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.