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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $171.69.

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $151.27 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.72 and its 200-day moving average is $147.42. The company has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. 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.