Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.95.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL opened at $83.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.13, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.19.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.