Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives $208.29 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.2941.

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $226.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $73.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.11. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $230.44.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 33.9% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,520 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $13,760,000 after buying an additional 16,078 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 30.7% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 139.5% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 388 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,575,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.