Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Short Interest Up 34.0% in March

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,363,879 shares, a growth of 34.0% from the March 15th total of 6,239,592 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,706,414 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $5.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,682,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,852. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.92. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $228.71.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.445 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,911,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,506,099,000 after buying an additional 99,975 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,487,720,000 after buying an additional 180,182 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $979,384,000 after buying an additional 79,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $868,360,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 9.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $605,704,000 after purchasing an additional 426,370 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.