Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives $160.87 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.26 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $134.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.35. The firm has a market cap of $49.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after buying an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $649,318,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.