Short Interest in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Expands By 26.6%

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the February 28th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 858,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:RL opened at $236.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. Ralph Lauren has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.24. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. As a group, analysts expect that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

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.