Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $430.7857.

RL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $437.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6,216.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 73,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,933,000 after acquiring an additional 72,176 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 41,688 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after buying an additional 9,133 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 177.9% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 54,701 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,343,000 after purchasing an additional 35,016 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 63,180 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $22,552,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 2,184.8% in the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 22,848 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,079,000 after purchasing an additional 21,848 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.1%

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $387.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $382.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $366.94. The company has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.34. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $273.04 and a one year high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.47%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.