Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target Raised to $104.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised Estée Lauder’s price target to $104 from $85 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 6.94% upside from the prior close.
• Estée Lauder reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.32 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 6.3% year over year to $3.64 billion. Growth was supported by its Skin Care and Fragrance businesses.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $99.45; shares recently traded at $97.25.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $104.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 6.94% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.45.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.25. 1,424,772 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,936,896. The business's 50-day moving average price is $84.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.67. Estee Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $66.22 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.25.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.67% and a positive return on equity of 20.66%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,952,869 shares of the company's stock worth $2,927,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,746 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 950.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,843,765 shares of the company's stock worth $993,567,000 after buying an additional 12,526,471 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,585,782 shares of the company's stock worth $1,213,263,000 after buying an additional 467,195 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 185.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,140,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,596,000 after buying an additional 5,286,875 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,837,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $820,717,000 after buying an additional 83,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.39, ahead of the $0.32 consensus, while revenue rose 6.3% year over year to $3.64 billion, exceeding expectations. Growth was led by Skin Care and Fragrance, with all geographic regions contributing. Estee Lauder Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Up 6% Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2027 organic sales growth of 3% to 5% and raised its adjusted operating-margin target to 12.7%–13.5%. The outlook reflects improving demand, particularly in North America, Makeup, China and premium Fragrance. EL Q4 Earnings Call Signals Higher Margins and Broader Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The Profit Recovery and Growth Plan is gaining traction. Estée Lauder expects up to $1.2 billion in cost savings by 2028, supported by supply-chain changes and an estimated reduction of approximately 10,000 positions. Why Estée Lauder Stock Jumped Today
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $100 from $90, while B. Riley lifted its target to $100 from $85, indicating improved expectations even though both firms retain cautious Hold or Neutral ratings. Analyst price-target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Estée Lauder declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable September 15 to shareholders of record August 31. The dividend provides income support but is unlikely to be the primary driver of the market reaction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity suggests increased speculative interest following the earnings release, but options volume alone does not confirm a sustained fundamental recovery.
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors argue the turnaround is already reflected in the valuation, with the stock trading at roughly 25 times projected fiscal 2028 earnings despite only mid-single-digit growth expectations. This creates downside risk if the recovery or margin expansion slows. Estee Lauder's Self-Help Actions Are Fully Reflected In Valuation

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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