Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $342.99 and last traded at $340.2430, with a volume of 50340 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $333.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. Cfra Research upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $421.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $423.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $347.13.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $320.67 and a 200 day moving average of $293.99.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The textile maker reported $3.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $0.34. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. 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 firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation 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, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RL. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,688,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,114 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 61.3% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 100 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 733 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.