Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives $155.21 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.21.

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $133.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 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.