Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Receives $298.19 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Key Points

• Ralph Lauren Corporation has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 13 out of 17 analysts recommending a buy or strong buy.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.27, exceeding consensus estimates of $2.00, and demonstrated an 8.3% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Ralph Lauren announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the repurchase of up to $1.50 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.

Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $298.19.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.6%

RL traded down $4.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $293.88. The company had a trading volume of 675,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,274. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.53. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $306.34. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $280.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the second quarter valued at about $485,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 65.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,780 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 4.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 247,246 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $67,815,000 after acquiring an additional 9,767 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 2.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,970 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $5,218,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth about $286,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently 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.