Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues FY25 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $5.79-5.98 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.94. Ross Stores also updated its Q2 guidance to $1.43-1.49 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Up 8.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $10.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,834,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,831. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $100.66 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $155.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.