Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Short Interest Down 19.3% in November

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the October 31st total of 3,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 663,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 16,575 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 137.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter valued at $19,320,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 126,505 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $24,526,000 after acquiring an additional 6,274 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 949,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $183,787,000 after acquiring an additional 30,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded up $8.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.40. 613,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,058. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $127.68 and a fifty-two week high of $237.16.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RL. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $208.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.90.

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.