Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $105.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE EL opened at $101.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a PE ratio of -203.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.14. Estee Lauder Companies has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 17.59% and a negative net margin of 1.21%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estee Lauder Companies

In related news, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total transaction of $476,971.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 13.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 40,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,197,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 4,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 85,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Estee Lauder Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Estee Lauder Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed a mild beat: EL reported EPS and revenue slightly above expectations and set FY2026 guidance of $2.03–$2.23, supporting the case for earnings durability. Estee Lauder Reports Quarterly Results
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind: analysts note a rotation into consumer staples/value stocks in 2026, which could attract incremental interest into EL as investors seek defensive exposure. 5 Consumer Staples Giants to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed on consumer names overall; coverage on EL shows divergence in views, making near?term reactions more sentiment?driven than fundamentals?driven. Analysts Conflicted on These Consumer Goods Names
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple broker notes have trimmed price targets and tone: Barclays issued a pessimistic outlook and cut its target (recent coverage lowering expectation), increasing downside risk in analyst sentiment. Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Estee Lauder
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target to $115 (now a hold), and HSBC moved EL from buy to hold with a $106 target — this cluster of downgrades is pressuring sentiment despite the beat. TD Cowen Lowers Estee Lauder Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: Estee Lauder sued Walmart alleging facilitation of counterfeit sales of premium brands — could lead to legal costs, settlement risk or brand disruption. Estee Lauder sues Walmart alleging ‘despicable’ sale of counterfeit beauty products
• Negative Sentiment: Options flow: a notable block of ~7,383 put options was purchased (?41% above average), signaling some traders are positioning for downside in the near term. No link available

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

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.