Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Short Interest Up 31.7% in December

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,252,053 shares, a growth of 31.7% from the December 15th total of 1,709,679 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 644,649 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 644,649 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RL. Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,308,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 13.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,007,745 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $276,407,000 after purchasing an additional 117,494 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth approximately $309,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth $3,902,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth $286,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $473.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $422.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.29.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE RL opened at $363.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $357.41 and its 200 day moving average is $324.59. Ralph Lauren has a twelve month low of $176.61 and a twelve month high of $380.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The textile maker reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $0.34. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 36.18% and a net margin of 11.28%.The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.