Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $201.22 and last traded at $200.47, with a volume of 9113 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $199.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $193.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.53. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 63,743 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,378 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 708.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,020 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11,052.5% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 177,548 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,325,000 after purchasing an additional 175,956 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 124.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,173 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 17,827 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 891.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,009 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently 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.