Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a decline of 19.3% from the October 31st total of 3,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 663,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on RL. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.90.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock opened at $231.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.72. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $127.68 and a 1 year high of $237.16.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 271 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.