Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $285.00 to $330.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the textile maker’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.55% from the company’s current price.

RL has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.55.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $269.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $239.00 and its 200 day moving average is $205.85. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burney Co. bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,711,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $95,537,000 after buying an additional 13,640 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 145.8% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 35,550 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,819,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.