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

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.50.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RL. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 39.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $175.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.34. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $108.60 and a 52 week high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is 30.86%.

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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.