Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives $292.88 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $292.88.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RL. Cfra Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE RL traded down $7.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $260.05. 919,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 822,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $243.77 and its 200-day moving average is $241.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 31.44%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,120,508 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $489,795,000 after acquiring an additional 70,544 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 22.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,903 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $333,958,000 after purchasing an additional 275,391 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after purchasing an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 55.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,867 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $245,468,000 after purchasing an additional 414,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,079,578 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $249,361,000 after purchasing an additional 82,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

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.