Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.71.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value 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 approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American International Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Ross Stores by 232.6% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,454,000 after acquiring an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,194.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,899,000 after acquiring an additional 379,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.23 and a 200 day moving average of $143.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

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.