Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target at $171.69

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $171.29.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $151.56 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.56. The firm has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,337,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.