Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.70.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $0.99 on Thursday, hitting $91.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,973,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,315,461. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.41. Estee Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $48.37 and a twelve month high of $103.44. The company has a market capitalization of $32.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.17.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 15.60% and a negative net margin of 5.89%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -57.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,406,000 after purchasing an additional 8,930,011 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,976,434 shares of the company's stock worth $526,445,000 after purchasing an additional 118,276 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $554,509,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,681,785 shares of the company's stock worth $440,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.