Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $155.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ROST. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $152.92 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.61.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.