Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the February 28th total of 1,920,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 858,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RL. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.62.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,373 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,396,000 after buying an additional 3,166 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,112 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $924,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at $5,883,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL traded up $7.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.36. The stock had a trading volume of 613,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,299. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.83. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

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.