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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $169.71.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $154.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.23 and a 200 day moving average of $143.06. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,263,000 after acquiring an additional 469,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after acquiring an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.