Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $152.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $157.85.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.29.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.