Ross Stores, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of 0.3675 per share by the apparel retailer on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%.

Ross Stores has increased its dividend by an average of 67.5% annually over the last three years. Ross Stores has a payout ratio of 22.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ross Stores to earn $6.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.47 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.5%.

Ross Stores Stock Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $6.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,167,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,608. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $157.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $144.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.09. The company has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $176.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% 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.