Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $409.69 and last traded at $417.3680, with a volume of 586 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $403.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RL. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $437.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $361.04.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DV Trading LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1,291.3% in 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 during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 87.8% in 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 during the period. RBF Capital LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 14.5% in 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 during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,693,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 6,613 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ralph Lauren

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.