Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $218.5556.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $217.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.54 and a 200-day moving average of $196.37. The stock has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $231.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Somerset Trust Co raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently 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.