Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Given New $95.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Estée Lauder’s price target to $95 from $104 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 1.47% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $104.76, despite several firms recently raising their targets.
• Estée Lauder reported quarterly EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.32 consensus and revenue of $3.64 billion, up 6.3% year over year; insiders sold approximately $7.4 million of shares over the past quarter.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 1.47% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $94.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Estee Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.76.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $93.62. 297,067 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,828,535. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.42. Estee Lauder Companies has a 52 week low of $66.22 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.27.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Fribourg sold 58,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.17, for a total transaction of $5,693,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 417,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,966,341. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total value of $802,383.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,483,365.24. The trade was a 35.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,105 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,185. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 35.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 415 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 3.1% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,691 shares of the company's stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 64,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,632,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc NYSE: EL is a global beauty company that develops, markets and sells prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Its portfolio includes brands such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, La Mer, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, Aveda, The Ordinary and Tom Ford Beauty.

The company's products are distributed through department stores, specialty retailers, freestanding stores, e-commerce platforms, travel retail outlets and other channels. Estée Lauder serves consumers in numerous markets across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Estée Lauder was founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder and her husband, Joseph Lauder, beginning with a small collection of skincare products.

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