Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Citigroup currently has $152.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $179.00.

ROST has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3 %

ROST stock opened at $142.33 on Tuesday. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $119.73 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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 stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 91.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,579 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 10,335 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $80,382,000 after buying an additional 41,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Ross Stores by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 381,729 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,023,000 after buying an additional 10,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.