Ross Stores, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.3675 per share by the apparel retailer on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th.

Ross Stores has increased its dividend by an average of 67.5% annually over the last three years. Ross Stores has a payout ratio of 22.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ross Stores to earn $6.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.47 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.2%.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.32 and a 200-day moving average of $144.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.