Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Short Interest Update

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the February 28th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 858,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 347 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL stock traded up $7.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $228.36. 613,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,299. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $250.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.83. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.62.

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.