Morgan Stanley Trims Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Target Price to $159.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $161.00 to $159.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ROST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $155.11.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.9 %

ROST opened at $132.76 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.49 and a 200 day moving average of $136.29. 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 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 33.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 37,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 109,195 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 107,895 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,187,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.1% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 68,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,776,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Finally, Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.4% during the third quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 64,850 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares in the last quarter. 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.