Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $142.96, but opened at $153.29. Ross Stores shares last traded at $148.59, with a volume of 2,542,648 shares traded.

The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after purchasing an additional 18,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake 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 valued at $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.53. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

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.