Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) PT at $171.69

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $171.69.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after buying an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 48.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,454,000 after acquiring an additional 16,248 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,152,000 after purchasing an additional 186,161 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $154.25 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.48. The firm has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 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.