Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Has Average Target Price of $272.06

Key Points

• Analysts rate Ross Stores a “Moderate Buy”: 16 of 20 analysts recommend buying, with an average 12-month price target of $272.06. Recent targets range from Wells Fargo’s $248 to Citigroup’s $290.
• Ross reported quarterly EPS of $2.66, beating the $1.95 consensus, while revenue reached $6.26 billion, up 13.3% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $8.15.
• CEO James Conroy and another insider sold shares in September; institutional investors own 86.86% of the stock. Ross also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $272.06.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total transaction of $11,291,563.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This trade represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,938,711,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,937,995,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $476,200,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $231.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.13. The stock has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $157.73 and a 12-month high of $257.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4450 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 21.55%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price retailer operating Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS. Its stores offer name-brand and designer merchandise at discounted prices, with product selection and availability varying by location and season.

Ross Dress for Less sells apparel, footwear, accessories, home fashions, furnishings, and other merchandise for the whole family. dd's DISCOUNTS offers a similar off-price assortment, including clothing, shoes, home goods, and related products.

The company traces its origins to a department store founded in San Bruno, California, in 1950.

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