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

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.40.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $123.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $139.96 and its 200 day moving average is $145.67.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. 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.