Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Stock Price

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $280.00 to $285.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.45.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of RL opened at $257.63 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren has a twelve month low of $142.26 and a twelve month high of $257.90. The stock has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $232.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.46.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.46%.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $5,711,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $95,537,000 after acquiring an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 145.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 35,550 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,819,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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.