Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $223.90.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Cfra set a $171.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE RL traded up $7.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,628,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,744. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $213.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $134.90 and a one year high of $237.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,999 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $12,601,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,831,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake 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 valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 16,575 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 137.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. 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.