Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $171.69.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.88. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.