Beauty products maker The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has caught a big upgrade from analysts at Barclays Capital, and announced a 36% boost to its annual dividend payout.

The firm upgraded Estee Lauder from “Equalweight” to “Overweight” while raising its price target from $69 to $81. That new target represents an expected 13% upside to the stock’s Monday closing price of $71.83.

A Barclays analyst comments: “After a thorough review of the underlying earnings potential in Estee Lauder’s business, we now think the greater source of upside surprises over time will be revenue growth rather than an undisclosed or underestimated pool of cost savings. Our intention in this report is to begin to explore the strategic changes underway at Estee Lauder, how those will impact the top line and, ultimately, yield more predictable, sustainable, and profitable growth.”

The analyst also raised its 2010 and 2011 earnings estimates for the company.

Meanwhile, Estee Lauder announced a 36% boost to its annual dividend, to 75 cents per share from a previous 55 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable on Dec. 15 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 29.

Estee Lauder shares were mostly flat in Tuesday’s premarket trading.