Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ralph Lauren's stock reached a new 52-week high at $307.75, closing at $306.91, driven by increased investor interest and positive earnings reports.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ralph Lauren shares, with projections ranging from $295.00 to $404.00, indicating strong growth expectations.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting confidence in its value and signaling potential undervaluation of its stock.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $307.75 and last traded at $306.91, with a volume of 193329 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $296.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on RL. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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 research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $289.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.90.

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,563 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 7,469 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,461 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. 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.

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