Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Ross Stores, Inc. a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”, with twelve out of sixteen analysts recommending a buy and four suggesting to hold.
• The average twelve-month target price for Ross Stores is approximately $160.67, reflecting positive sentiment toward the company's financial prospects.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Ross Stores reported $1.56 earnings per share, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and a revenue of $5.53 billion.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $160.6667.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.17 on Friday. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $158.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $147.09 and its 200 day moving average is $139.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,102 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 28,220 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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.

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