Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $236.35, but opened at $208.99. Ralph Lauren shares last traded at $197.86, with a volume of 298,909 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 15.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth about $94,831,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 671.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,637,000 after buying an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at approximately $19,320,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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.