Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Shares Gap Down to $146.71

Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $146.71, but opened at $140.41. Estée Lauder Companies shares last traded at $137.94, with a volume of 1,372,239 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.36.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 13.2 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $146.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.33. The firm has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 95.76, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée 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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.