Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Rating Lowered 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 Monday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on ROST. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a market perform rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, June 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $156.58.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $137.54 and a 200 day moving average of $140.10. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $107.30 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,717 shares of company stock valued at $7,141,031. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American International Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its position in Ross Stores by 232.6% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.