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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $160.87.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 261.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 4,871 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 177,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,734,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $139.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.94. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.