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

Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $284.15.

RL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL opened at $222.73 on Wednesday. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $254.62 and its 200 day moving average is $221.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,687 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during 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.