Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $92.00 to $110.00. The stock had previously closed at $78.91, but opened at $88.96. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Estee Lauder Companies shares last traded at $87.4980, with a volume of 1,655,350 shares.

A number of other analysts have also commented on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. HSBC lowered shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $106.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.63.

Estee Lauder Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Estée Lauder and Puig terminated discussions on a potential business combination, which investors see as clearing uncertainty and letting the company refocus on its restructuring and margin recovery efforts.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on EL from $92 to $110 and kept a buy rating, signaling increased confidence in the stock’s upside potential.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent reports also noted that Estée Lauder reiterated confidence in its “Beauty Reimagined” strategy, suggesting the company intends to continue its internal turnaround rather than pursue a large acquisition.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 950.9% in the first 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. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 185.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,140,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,596,000 after buying an additional 5,286,875 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 4,281.3% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 4,094,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,094,761,000 after purchasing an additional 4,001,300 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,912,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 16,270.3% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,667,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,915 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $31.56 billion, a PE ratio of -124.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.92.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. 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 $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.430 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -200.00%.

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.