Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $318.00 to $328.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the textile maker's stock. Bank of America's price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.43% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RL. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas raised Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded down $2.06 on Friday, reaching $284.16. 592,639 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 832,760. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $230.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $489,795,000 after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 22.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,903 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $333,958,000 after buying an additional 275,391 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 55.7% during 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 buying an additional 414,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,079,578 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $249,361,000 after acquiring an additional 82,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.