Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $161.40.

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $123.54 on Monday. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $139.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.67. The firm has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after acquiring an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 666,450 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,307,000 after acquiring an additional 54,037 shares during the last quarter. 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.