Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS Group has increased the price target for Ralph Lauren's stock from $384.00 to $385.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.64% from its current price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Recent analysts' ratings show diverse opinions: while Barclays raised its target to $321.00, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "hold," reflecting differing perspectives on Ralph Lauren's market performance.
• The company also announced a $1.50 billion stock buyback program, suggesting that the board believes the stock is undervalued amidst a backdrop of favorable earnings results.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $384.00 to $385.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the textile maker's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.57% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.19.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE:RL traded down $6.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $292.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 191,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,407. The business's 50-day moving average is $280.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.18. The company has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ralph Lauren has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $306.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. Ralph Lauren's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,867 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $245,468,000 after acquiring an additional 414,275 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $285,841,000 after purchasing an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $56,132,000 after purchasing an additional 253,244 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 118.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

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.