Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $223.90.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RL shares. Barclays raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,999 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $12,601,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth about $94,831,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 8,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $17,425,000 after buying an additional 16,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 137.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of RL stock opened at $232.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $216.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.32. Ralph Lauren has a 1-year low of $134.90 and a 1-year high of $237.16. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Ralph Lauren’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

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.