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

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": 21 analysts cover Ross with 16 buy and 5 hold ratings, and an average 12‑month price target of $208.29.
• Earnings beat: Ross reported $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 expected and $6.64B revenue vs. $6.42B expected, with revenue up 12.2% y/y and strong margins (ROE 36.7%, net margin 9.43%).
• Dividend up but signals mixed: the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, yield 0.8%), yet the stock trades near $228—above the average analyst target—and insiders sold about $5.5M of shares in the past three months.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.2941.

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2%

ROST stock opened at $228.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.92. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $230.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.