Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $193.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of RL stock opened at $199.12 on Friday. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $108.60 and a 12-month high of $200.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $177.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.25. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RL. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 12,493.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002,344 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $175,470,000 after acquiring an additional 994,385 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $149,478,000 after purchasing an additional 528,778 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 15,903.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 448,902 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $84,266,000 after purchasing an additional 446,097 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at $61,022,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 10,207.7% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 325,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,061,000 after buying an additional 322,053 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.