Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Cut to $163.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $168.00 to $163.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.12.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $138.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $146.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.64.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.