Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $215.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on RL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.09.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $236.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.49. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $134.90 and a 1 year high of $245.92.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 31.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $95,537,000 after purchasing an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 145.8% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after buying an additional 35,550 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,819,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,752,000 after buying an additional 2,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 210.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 4,178 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.