StockNews.com Upgrades Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on RL. Barclays increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Cfra set a $171.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.90.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 2.5 %

RL opened at $207.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.24 and a 200-day moving average of $181.90. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $120.95 and a fifty-two week high of $237.16. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.46%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,173 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 17,827 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 322.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 30,839 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,760,000 after purchasing an additional 23,533 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 203,495 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 130.7% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,071 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 184.5% in the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 5,594 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 3,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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.