Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Ralph Lauren has received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Ralph Lauren, with Telsey Advisory Group increasing it from $315.00 to $335.00 and Needham & Company boosting it from $335.00 to $350.00.
• Ralph Lauren's recent earnings report showed $3.77 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.7%.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.76.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock opened at $315.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.21. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $176.61 and a 1 year high of $321.77.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in 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 often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RL. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $245,468,000 after acquiring an additional 414,275 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 22.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,903 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $333,958,000 after acquiring an additional 275,391 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $56,132,000 after acquiring an additional 253,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 118.3% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 388,138 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $106,458,000 after acquiring an additional 210,343 shares during the last quarter. 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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