Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $171.69.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.27 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $147.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

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

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.