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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $155.21.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $5,384,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 41,013 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,019,000 after buying an additional 7,085 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7.8% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $129.55 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

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.