Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,620,000 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the September 15th total of 2,770,000 shares. Currently, 9.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 742,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $193.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 432 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:RL traded down $4.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $201.25. The company had a trading volume of 843,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,194. The stock has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.65. Ralph Lauren has a one year low of $109.59 and a one year high of $206.74.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is 33.95%.

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.