Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup upgraded Ralph Lauren from "neutral" to Buy and raised its price target to $400, implying roughly a 17.8% upside from the current price.
• Ralph Lauren beat earnings with Q EPS of $6.22 versus $5.80 expected and revenue of $2.41B (up 12.2% YoY); the stock's consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $391.56.
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares for about $16.65M (a 35.46% reduction in his position); insiders own 38.34% of the stock while institutions own 67.91%.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $400.00 target price on the textile maker's stock, up from their previous target price of $360.00. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.81% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on RL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $422.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Argus raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $391.56.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $339.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $176.61 and a 1 year high of $389.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $356.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.36.

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

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 38.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $468,186,000 after buying an additional 275,263 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.5% in 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,007,745 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $276,407,000 after acquiring an additional 117,494 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position 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 worth $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position 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 worth $295,321,000 after purchasing an additional 98,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.