Estee Lauder Companies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EL)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Traders bought 27,427 call options on Estée Lauder, 518% above the average daily volume of 4,438 contracts, signaling heightened market interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Several firms raised their price targets, but the consensus rating is still “Hold,” with an average target price of $104.67 versus the stock’s recent price near $98.20.
• Shares and fundamentals showed improvement: Estée Lauder reported quarterly EPS of $0.39 and revenue of $3.64 billion, exceeding estimates, while shares traded above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Insiders have nonetheless sold $1.73 million worth of stock over the past three months.

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 27,427 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 518% compared to the average daily volume of 4,438 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. China Intl Cap raised Estee Lauder Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.67.

Insider Activity at Estee Lauder Companies

In other news, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total transaction of $802,383.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,365.24. The trade was a 35.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.82, for a total transaction of $373,045.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,971 shares in the company, valued at $5,036,954.22. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,105 shares of company stock worth $1,729,325. 13.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,619,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,438,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 14.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 973,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,854,000 after purchasing an additional 124,079 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,728,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,308,108 shares of the company's stock worth $658,020,000 after purchasing an additional 331,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estee Lauder Companies stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $98.20. 2,074,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,910,732. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a PE ratio of 200.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. Estee Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $66.22 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is 285.71%.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc is a global beauty company that develops, manufactures and markets prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair-care products. Its portfolio includes Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, Tom Ford Beauty and The Ordinary, among other brands.

Founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder, the company began with four skincare products and has expanded into a broad international beauty business. Its products are sold through department and specialty stores, freestanding stores, e-commerce platforms, travel retail locations and other distribution channels.

Estée Lauder Companies serves consumers in markets around the world, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.

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