Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.42.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of RL stock opened at $173.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $108.60 and a fifty-two week high of $192.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.00.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 33.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 18,833 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,297,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,791 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,799,000. Finally, AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.