Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Rating Increased to Hold at Cfra Research

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) was upgraded by Cfra Research from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

RL has been the topic of several other research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Raymond James cut Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.43.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL opened at $202.01 on Monday. Ralph Lauren has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $235.91 and its 200-day moving average is $227.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,320,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 137.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 16,575 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 8,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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.