Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective raised by Evercore ISI from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $145.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.83. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 231.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 24.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 177,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,734,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.