BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $197.00 to $205.00 in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an underperform rating on the textile maker's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on RL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price objective on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of RL traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $285.25. 256,630 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,467. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The company has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.59.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at $3,014,000. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,872,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,444,000 after buying an additional 14,889 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,264,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $6,872,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.