Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Price Target Raised to $328.00

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its price target upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $250.00 to $328.00 in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cfra Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $273.92 on Friday. Ralph Lauren has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $289.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $228.32 and a 200-day moving average of $235.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

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

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,014,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,444,000 after purchasing an additional 14,889 shares during the period. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,264,000. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,872,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,872,000. 67.91% of the stock is 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.