Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $279.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on RL shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 86.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 271 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $282.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.61. Ralph Lauren has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $289.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

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.