Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $223.90.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RL. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $95,537,000 after purchasing an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 145.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth $1,819,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 6,653 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $222.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.64. The firm has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $134.90 and a 12-month high of $237.16.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.46%.

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.