Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.43-1.49 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.46. Ross Stores also updated its FY25 guidance to $5.79-5.98 EPS.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

ROST traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $131.86. 3,607,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,136,126. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $100.66 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $155.11.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.