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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $160.73.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target 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.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $142.28 on Tuesday. Ross Stores has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.33.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 17.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.