Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives $171.69 Average PT from Brokerages

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $171.69.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.49. 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 has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.