Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Market Perform Rating from Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $165.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $178.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ROST. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 106.6% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. 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.