Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $208.04, but opened at $229.94. Ralph Lauren shares last traded at $220.84, with a volume of 376,403 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RL. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.27.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 6.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $190.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.53. The company has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 10.27%. Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is 31.82%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.3% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.3% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 432 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.