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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ROST. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $146.09 on Tuesday. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by 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.