Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on RL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cfra set a $171.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.18.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $199.19 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $207.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.66 and its 200 day moving average is $175.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 4.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,908,575 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $921,634,000 after acquiring an additional 203,495 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,255,482 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $235,662,000 after purchasing an additional 41,482 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 12,493.8% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002,344 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $175,470,000 after buying an additional 994,385 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $149,478,000 after buying an additional 528,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 42.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 638,502 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $111,760,000 after buying an additional 189,600 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.