Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Coverage Initiated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target on the textile maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.31% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on RL. Cfra set a $171.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.33.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $278.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $242.22 and a 200-day moving average of $208.85. The company has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth $94,831,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the 4th 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. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the 4th 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $221,007,000 after buying an additional 137,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 671.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,637,000 after buying an additional 118,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ralph Lauren

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.