Analysts Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) PT at $161.67

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.67.

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $141.51 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.11. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.