Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.42.

RL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Ralph Lauren from $202.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE RL opened at $173.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.52. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $108.60 and a 52 week high of $192.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 33.95%.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,800 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers apparel, including a range of men's, women's, and children's clothing; footwear and accessories, which comprise casual shoes, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, and umbrellas, as well as leather goods, such as handbags, luggage, small leather goods, and belts; home products consisting of bed and bath lines, furniture, fabric and wallcoverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.