Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Short Interest Down 13.9% in May

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a decline of 13.9% from the April 30th total of 2,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 6.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the first quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 180.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 171 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $274.86. 568,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,781. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $237.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.69. The company has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. Ralph Lauren has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.