The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Update

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,700,000 shares, a growth of 40.4% from the August 31st total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of EL stock traded down $0.91 on Friday, hitting $99.87. 3,820,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,210,515. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.36 and a 200 day moving average of $116.00. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $82.39 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.9% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 849 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is 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.