Brokerages Set Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Price Target at $155.64

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.64.

Several brokerages have recently commented on RL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $11,542,000 after buying an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 9.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,761 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 64.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,638 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $14,353,000 after purchasing an additional 48,432 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth about $827,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth about $743,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:RL traded down $4.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $160.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,319,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 910,121. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $192.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $178.02 and a 200 day moving average of $146.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 8.90%. Ralph Lauren's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is 34.01%.

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.