Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded by Citigroup to Buy Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $146.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $130.31 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $230,204,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.