The Bank of America has upgraded Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) from Neutral to Buy, raising the price objective from $160 to $170.
EL rose more than 4% ahead of Thursday’s market open.
This optimistic reassessment comes as BofA expects a recovery in EL’s earnings, with specific company and macro factors driving a two-year negative revision trend to a halt.
Citing the company’s initiatives aimed at improving profitability, enhancing brand and product efficacy, and achieving a more balanced growth across different channels and geographies, BofA lifted projections for Estée Lauder’s earnings per share (EPS) for FY26 from $5.50 to $5.85, “suggesting potential upside to $6.49,” analysts said.
The analysts noted a nearing sales and profit inflection point for EL, with improvements in demand visibility and inventory management expected to clear excess inventories by fiscal Q3 2023.
A four-pillar strategy focusing on operational excellence, operating leverage, product mix, and pricing adjustments aims to recover profit margins previously impacted by a slowdown in China and travel retail.
“EL’s response to the volatile operating environment since FY21 has pushed the company to develop a muscular new product funnel, identify margin expansion levers, and stabilize sales and profit contribution from China,” analysts said.
“In our view, these improvements should net to deliver healthier growth and margins in line with their +6-8% sales growth and double-digit EPS growth algorithm.”