Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) PT at $102.73

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $102.73.

Several research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $122.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Monday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $125.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Monday, May 16th. OTR Global downgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 20th.

In other Ross Stores news, Director Michael J. Bush sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.46, for a total transaction of $81,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,810,044.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,553,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,510,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,967,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 93.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,865,310 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $556,007,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,597,230 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $596,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,931 shares in the last quarter. 87.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $73.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $69.75 and a 52 week high of $127.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.93 and its 200 day moving average is $95.29. The company has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.93.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The apparel retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.61% and a net margin of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 7th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 6th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 27.62%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.90 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Company Profile (Get Rating)

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. 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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.

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