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

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $428.2857.

Several research firms have recently commented on RL. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $437.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth approximately $411,000. DV Trading LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,291.3% during the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 640 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 87.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 32,959 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,338,000 after buying an additional 15,412 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 11,453 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,693,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE RL opened at $410.52 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $259.30 and a 52 week high of $421.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $370.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $362.30.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 24.16%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.