Short Interest in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Grows By 55.6%

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,860,000 shares, a growth of 55.6% from the October 31st total of 5,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.05. 2,490,680 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,531,117. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 132.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.89.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. 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 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 471.43%.

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.