Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $100.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.95.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $83.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.95. Estée Lauder Companies has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 149.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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