Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EL. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $106.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $101.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.68. Estee Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $48.37 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -203.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Activity at Estee Lauder Companies

In related news, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total transaction of $476,971.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 33.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 24.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 10.6% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $217,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Estee Lauder Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed a mild beat: EL reported EPS and revenue slightly above expectations and set FY2026 guidance of $2.03–$2.23, supporting the case for earnings durability. Estee Lauder Reports Quarterly Results
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind: analysts note a rotation into consumer staples/value stocks in 2026, which could attract incremental interest into EL as investors seek defensive exposure. 5 Consumer Staples Giants to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed on consumer names overall; coverage on EL shows divergence in views, making near‑term reactions more sentiment‑driven than fundamentals‑driven. Analysts Conflicted on These Consumer Goods Names
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple broker notes have trimmed price targets and tone: Barclays issued a pessimistic outlook and cut its target (recent coverage lowering expectation), increasing downside risk in analyst sentiment. Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Estee Lauder
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target to $115 (now a hold), and HSBC moved EL from buy to hold with a $106 target — this cluster of downgrades is pressuring sentiment despite the beat. TD Cowen Lowers Estee Lauder Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: Estee Lauder sued Walmart alleging facilitation of counterfeit sales of premium brands — could lead to legal costs, settlement risk or brand disruption. Estee Lauder sues Walmart alleging ‘despicable’ sale of counterfeit beauty products
• Negative Sentiment: Options flow: a notable block of ~7,383 put options was purchased (≈41% above average), signaling some traders are positioning for downside in the near term. No link available

About Estee Lauder Companies

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.