The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Up 44.6% in June

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, a growth of 44.6% from the May 31st total of 3,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 over the last 90 days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 156,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,900,000 after buying an additional 83,320 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,477.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 566,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,804,000 after acquiring an additional 550,355 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 39,082 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Finally, YCG LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. YCG LLC now owns 178,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $1.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $105.38. 2,995,247 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,817,719. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $198.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a PE ratio of 59.05, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.75.

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