Ralph Lauren's (RL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $310.00 target price on the textile maker's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target points to a potential upside of 8.68% from the stock's previous close.

RL has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $285.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 256,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,467. The company has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $230.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.59.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 459.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,755 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $5,244,000 after purchasing an additional 19,508 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 92.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 462 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter valued at approximately $997,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.