Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Updates Q2 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.43-1.49 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.46. Ross Stores also updated its FY25 guidance to $5.79-5.98 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $155.68.

Ross Stores Price Performance

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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $100.66 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.42. The company has a market cap of $48.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.