Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL)

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $310.00 price target on the textile maker's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.39% from the stock's current price.

RL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas raised Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on Ralph Lauren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of RL stock traded up $11.92 on Friday, reaching $286.00. 791,315 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 833,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $229.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.24.

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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at about $507,000. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,097 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,195,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,274 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.