Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 on June 30th

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the apparel retailer on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th.

Ross Stores has a payout ratio of 23.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ross Stores to earn $6.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.3%.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of ROST opened at $143.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.98. 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 has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Ross Stores stock. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 39.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.