Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $430.7857.

RL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.0% in the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,510 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,425 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 179 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $372.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $383.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $367.05. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $273.04 and a 1 year high of $421.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 11.60%.The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 18.33 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.