Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $320.00 to $345.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the textile maker’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.57% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on RL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up previously from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $312.01 on Monday. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $169.93 and a fifty-two week high of $321.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.70. The company has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 118.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,551 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,899 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 569.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 23,649 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 20,115 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 143 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 47.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.