Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,360,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the August 31st total of 3,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.56. 1,727,338 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,211,474. Ross Stores has a one year low of $109.19 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.29.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.