Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $150.00. The stock had previously closed at $152.25, but opened at $134.60. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ross Stores shares last traded at $131.07, with a volume of 4,295,296 shares.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Ross Stores by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 18,129 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,317,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its position in Ross Stores by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 5,157 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,562,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 9.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.94. The company has a market cap of $45.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.