Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on RL. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Argus reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $193.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $189.00.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL opened at $201.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.66. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $108.60 and a 1 year high of $202.89.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 12,493.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002,344 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $175,470,000 after buying an additional 994,385 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $149,478,000 after acquiring an additional 528,778 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 15,903.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 448,902 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $84,266,000 after purchasing an additional 446,097 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth $61,022,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 10,207.7% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 325,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,061,000 after purchasing an additional 322,053 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.