Brokerages Set Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Price Target at $184.80

Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.80.

RL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $167.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $172.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.36. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $108.60 and a 1 year high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 33.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total value of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.