Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives $170.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.42.

A number of research firms have weighed in on RL. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL stock opened at $168.10 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren has a 1-year low of $108.60 and a 1-year high of $192.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.60. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.95%.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In other Ralph Lauren news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total value of $11,515,363.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RL. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 12,999 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,752 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.