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

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $169.71.

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $144.38 on Friday. Ross Stores has a one year low of $112.39 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $149.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,128 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $278,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 259.7% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 6,834 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 4,934 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 18.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.