Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) PT at $158.94

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $158.94.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3%

Ross Stores stock opened at $135.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.38. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.59%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.