Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ralph Lauren Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 20 research firms, including ratings of one sell, three hold, fourteen buy, and two strong buy.
• The company recently reported earnings exceeding expectations, with $3.77 EPS for the quarter against an estimate of $3.50, and revenue of $1.72 billion, marking a 13.7% year-over-year increase.
• Ralph Lauren's board has authorized a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that their shares are currently undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $306.4118.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $293.07 on Wednesday. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $167.32 and a 52 week high of $306.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $287.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.53.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 118.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,551 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 569.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 23,649 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 20,115 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 143 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 47.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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