Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $389.43 and last traded at $389.02, with a volume of 171849 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $386.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on RL shares. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.82 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,425 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,920,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 179 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ralph Lauren

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.