Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Ross Stores shares hit a new 52-week high at $231.16 and Wall Street is broadly positive—16 Buy vs. 5 Hold ratings—with several firms raising targets (Guggenheim $290; Citi and Telsey $240) and an average price target of $212.06.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Ross reported $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 expected and revenue $6.64B vs. $6.42B, a 12.2% year‑over‑year sales increase, with a 9.43% net margin and 36.7% ROE.
• Financial positioning and shareholder moves: the company has low leverage (debt/equity 0.16), a market cap ~ $72.3B and PE ~34, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, ~0.8% yield), while insiders sold roughly 25,756 shares (~$5.52M) recently.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $231.16 and last traded at $227.6840, with a volume of 101224 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $228.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $216.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,790,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 84.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $1,542,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,904,000 after purchasing an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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.

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