Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $208.04, but opened at $229.94. Ralph Lauren shares last traded at $220.84, with a volume of 376,403 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on RL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.27.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.19.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 31.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 63,743 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,378 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 708.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after buying an additional 7,904 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 124.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,173 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 17,827 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 891.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,009 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 267.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,804 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 4,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.