Short Interest in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Increases By 30.7%

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,620,000 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the September 15th total of 2,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 742,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 9.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:RL traded down $4.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $201.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 843,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,220. The company has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.19. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $109.59 and a fifty-two week high of $206.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.74.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RL. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.4% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.