Needham & Company LLC Initiates Coverage on Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL)

Research analysts at Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target on the textile maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.94% from the stock’s previous close.

RL has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Raymond James lowered Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.33.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of RL opened at $272.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 271 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ralph Lauren

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.