Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.88.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $143.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $119.73 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.