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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $263.76.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $294.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $235.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $147.49 and a twelve month high of $257.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.4450 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total value of $11,291,563.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $5,938,711,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,643,656 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,116,902,000 after acquiring an additional 734,009 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,937,995,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an off-price retailer that operates Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores. The company sells a broad selection of apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashion merchandise for women, men and children, generally at prices below those of traditional department and specialty stores.

Ross Stores follows an opportunistic buying model, purchasing name-brand, designer and other merchandise from manufacturers and retailers at discounted prices. Its product assortment changes frequently and can include clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, beauty products, furniture, bedding, home décor and other household goods.

Founded in 1950, the company is headquartered in Dublin, California, and serves customers primarily through its store network across the United States and Guam.