Ross Stores (ROST) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, November 21st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.41 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Ross Stores to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. Ross Stores has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $145.99 and its 200 day moving average is $144.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

About Ross Stores

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.