Should Value Investors Pick Ralph Lauren (RL) Stock Now?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put, Ralph Lauren Corporation RL stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Ralph Lauren has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.35, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.08. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level Ralph Lauren puts current PE ratio below its midpoint (which is 16) over the past five years.

Also, the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 24.39. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Ralph Lauren has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 15.39, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near future.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, the stock has a P/S ratio of about 1.45. This is somewhat lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.47 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Ralph Lauren currently has a Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes RL a solid choice for value investors and some of its other metrics make it clear too.

For example, the PEG ratio for Ralph Lauren is just 1.84, a level that is slightly lower than the industry average of 1.98. The PEG ratio is a modified PE ratio that takes into account the stock’s earnings growth rate.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Ralph Lauren might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of C and a Momentum score of C. This gives RL a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>).

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen two estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to one lower, while current year estimate has seen three upward and two downward revision in the same time period.

This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has inched up 0.8% in the past two months, while the current year estimate has nudged up 0.4% in the same time period. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Despite having a bullish trend, RL sports a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). This indicates that analysts have some apprehensions about the stock in the immediate future. Thus, we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Ralph Lauren is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Boasting a good industry rank (Top 34% out of more than 250 industries), the company deserves attention right now. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, despite a Zacks Rank #3, we believe that bullish analyst sentiment and favorable industry factors make this value stock a compelling pick.

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