Barclays Increases Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target to $150.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $146.00 to $150.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $168.17.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

EL traded up $1.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $146.60. 1,452,970 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,632,755. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.55 billion, a PE ratio of 111.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.07. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $250.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 203.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Moreno Evelyn V boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 16,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 34.1% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 25.6% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.