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

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.08.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RL. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,214,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $175,001,000 after purchasing an additional 487,882 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,542,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 9.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 64.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,638 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $14,353,000 after purchasing an additional 48,432 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $1,478,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $166.98 on Thursday. Ralph Lauren has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $192.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $172.40 and its 200 day moving average is $154.12. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.01%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

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.