Ross Stores’ (ROST) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a $165.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their previous target price of $178.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ROST. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.63 on Tuesday. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after acquiring an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.