Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Cut to “Moderate Sell” at Cfra Research

Cfra Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

RL has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price objective on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.29.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL opened at $277.36 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.10. The company has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.11%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $507,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,097 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,195,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.