Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $168.00 to $163.00. The stock had previously closed at $135.97, but opened at $129.40. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Ross Stores shares last traded at $136.99, with a volume of 761,826 shares trading hands.

ROST has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.