The Estee Lauder Companies

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL - Analyst Report) is seeing solid forecasts from analysts ahead of reporting next month for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year. For the year, the average earnings estimate of $1.43 per share is 4% above the 3 months-ago level.

Company Description

Estee Lauder, which manufactures and markets skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, is the pre-eminent global leader in prestige beauty. The company has strong brands, market presence, and growth potential demonstrated by over 60 years of uninterrupted sales growth.

Estee Lauder's products are well-recognized brand names, including Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, M-A-C, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, La Mer, Donna Karan, Aveda, Jo Malone, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Michael Kors, American Beauty, Flirt!, Good Skin, Grassroots, Sean John, Missoni, Daisy Fuentes, Tom Ford Beauty, Mustang, Coach and Ojon.

The products are sold worldwide through department stores, mass retailers, company-owned retail stores, hair salons, and travel-related establishments.

Bullish Forecasts

The company is seeing solid forecasts from analysts ahead of reporting next month for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year. For the current fiscal year, the average earnings estimate of $1.43 per share is 4% above the 3 months-ago level.

For the year ending June 2010, analysts are calling for earnings of $1.72 per share, versus the 3 months-ago projections of $1.64.

During the past couple months, analysts’ earnings forecasts have held steady at 20 cents per share.

The company is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year results on August 13.

Shares Spiked on Third-quarter Results

Estee Lauder's fiscal third quarter saw earnings of 16 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate by an astonishing 220%. Shares surged once the report came out and maintained the higher level fairly well, outperforming the market over the past 3 months.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

Estee Lauder offers a return on equity (ROE) of 22%, more than doubling the industry average of 9%. The company’s net profit margin of 5% is well ahead of a negative industry average. The earnings per share total is expected to grow 13% over the next 3 – 5 years, versus the industry average of 10%. The company also boasts an industry-leading dividend yield of 2%.

Read the full analyst report on EL