Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $292.88.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group set a $384.00 price objective on Ralph Lauren and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $265.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $248.25 and a 200 day moving average of $242.72. The company has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 414,275 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 253,244 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth about $37,517,000. 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.