Zacks Research Upgrades Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) to “Strong-Buy”

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EL. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC lowered Estee Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Estee Lauder Companies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.00.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $82.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -117.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. Estee Lauder Companies has a 52 week low of $62.03 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.76.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.67% and a positive return on equity of 20.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.430 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after buying an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 352.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 10,302 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 305.7% in the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 12,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 9,387 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $637,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 418.4% in the 1st quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 217,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,626,000 after buying an additional 175,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

About Estee Lauder Companies

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.