Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $355.00 to $406.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ralph Lauren traded as high as $303.64 and last traded at $301.81, with a volume of 576851 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.23.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on RL. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 329 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $279.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.07.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.44%.

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

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.