Analysts Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Target Price at $169.06

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.06.

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after buying an additional 616,860 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,732,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Ross Stores by 478.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after buying an additional 331,007 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $147.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.89. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.