Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.64.

RL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $160.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.95. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.01%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth $314,000. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 41.4% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,515 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth $64,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 10,207.7% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 325,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,061,000 after acquiring an additional 322,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 161.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.