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

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.06.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,511 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 50,802 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,685,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $8,508,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,737 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.28 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.92. The company has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

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.