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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.21.

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $132.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.12. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,953,763,000 after purchasing an additional 381,790 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after purchasing an additional 161,202 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,185,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $415,339,000 after acquiring an additional 68,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.