Brokerages Set Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Target Price at $311.41

Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $312.8235.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $312.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.85 and a 200-day moving average of $266.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $176.61 and a 52 week high of $321.77.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,228.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 93 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the second quarter worth $28,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.