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

Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $135.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $162.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $139.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 74.8% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 215 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 99.2% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 47.9% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 119.9% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 343 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 0.7 %

RL stock opened at $122.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.89. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $100.35 and a one year high of $135.76. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.41.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The textile maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.18. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.31%.

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.