Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $75.19, but opened at $77.36. Estee Lauder Companies shares last traded at $78.63, with a volume of 1,425,650 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.85 and a 200 day moving average of $68.82.

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

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -57.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $554,509,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,704,000 after buying an additional 3,313,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 148.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company's stock worth $410,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,278,632 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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