Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 25.5% to 2,898,052 shares as of March 31, equal to about 7.8% of shares shorted and a days-to-cover ratio of 4.3.
• Ralph Lauren reported a quarterly beat with EPS of $6.22 vs. $5.80 expected and revenue of $2.41 billion (up 12.2% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $399.19.
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares on Feb. 10 for about $16.65 million (a 35.46% reduction in his position), though insiders still own 38.34% and institutional investors own 67.91% of the company.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,898,052 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the March 15th total of 2,309,505 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 677,476 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $367.67. The company had a trading volume of 143,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,722. The stock has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.46. Ralph Lauren has a 12 month low of $198.62 and a 12 month high of $389.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $355.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $349.36.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 38.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $468,186,000 after acquiring an additional 275,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,050,543 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $370,852,000 after acquiring an additional 54,686 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $264,225,000 after acquiring an additional 952,681 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 941,832 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $295,321,000 after acquiring an additional 98,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $316,487,000 after acquiring an additional 255,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on RL. Citigroup upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $422.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $420.00 price target on Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell 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 $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation NYSE: RL is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men's neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren's product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.

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