Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Price Target Raised to $205.00

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $197.00 to $205.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RL. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price objective on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 1.3%

RL opened at $273.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $228.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.88. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.