Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup raised Estee Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.76.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $68.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.00 and its 200 day moving average is $98.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.36. Estee Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.21% and a positive return on equity of 17.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.230 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -280.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 556.8% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,554,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,570,000 after buying an additional 1,317,473 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 539.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,245,000 after acquiring an additional 193,833 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 26,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 9,559 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 190,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,795,000 after acquiring an additional 66,003 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 319,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,843,000 after purchasing an additional 17,552 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.