Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Citigroup

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $80.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $105.00. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.20% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.77.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $87.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.96, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.08 and a 200-day moving average of $107.18. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $82.39 and a 12-month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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