Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of EL stock opened at $115.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.98 and a 200 day moving average of $94.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Estee Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $48.37 and a 1-year high of $119.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.51 billion, a PE ratio of -44.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.15.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 6.44% and a positive return on equity of 14.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -54.26%.

Insider Transactions at Estee Lauder Companies

In related news, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total value of $476,971.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry S. Sternlicht sold 3,972 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total value of $364,748.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,812 shares in the company, valued at $3,196,785.96. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 13.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 201,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,075,000 after acquiring an additional 23,717 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 188.0% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 69,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,232,000 after acquiring an additional 45,084 shares during the period. Victory Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 67,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.