Polo Ralph Lauren Shares Popped: What You Need to Know (JNY, RL)

Polo Ralph Lauren Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL ) rose more than 10% to set a new 52-week high after the company reported strong fiscal third quarter results and doubled its dividend.

So what: Reports of a recovery in consumer spending appear to be spot on. Revenue increased 25% to $1.5 billion. Profit rose 56% to $1.72 a share. Analysts were expecting $1.46 billion and $1.29, respectively, according to Yahoo! Finance data.

Now what: Impressive, yes? I'd say so. But more impressive may be Polo Ralph Lauren's outlook. During today's earnings call, executives expressed faith in the company's ability to continue to sell its wares at full-price despite a retail environment that promotes discounting.

That's in sharp contrast to peer The Jones Group (NYSE: JNY ) , which last month suffered a sell-off after reporting lower margins due to an overly "promotional" retail environment. Jones lacks the pricing power Polo claims it has.

But this is also more than just a claim. By doubling the dividend, management is betting real money on being right. Shareholders like the confidence, and so do I.

Interested in more info on Polo Ralph Lauren? Add it to your watchlist. You can also try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team. He didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article at the time of publication. Check out Tim's portfolio holdings and Foolish writings, or connect with him on Twitter as @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is also on Twitter as @TheMotleyFool. Its disclosure policy is at least 10% better than other disclosure policies.

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