Ross Stores’ (ROST) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.14 and a 200-day moving average of $144.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.