Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $173.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $171.00 to $173.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.70.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 59.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after acquiring an additional 469,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after purchasing an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.