Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) had its target price raised by Barclays from $150.00 to $157.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer's stock.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, reaching $152.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,064,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,854. The company has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $135.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in 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. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.