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

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $400.3125.

RL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $420.00 price target on Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ralph Lauren from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $358.08 on Monday. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $246.72 and a fifty-two week high of $393.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $357.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 16.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 38.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 32,362 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $10,147,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,601 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $83,282,000 after acquiring an additional 18,355 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $899,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 159.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,719,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.