Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Given New $156.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target cut by BMO Capital Markets from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.12.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.0 %

ROST stock opened at $138.64 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 53.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 22.2% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,094,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 46,853 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.