BMO Capital Markets Boosts Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $138.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ROST. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $129.38.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $129.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.66. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $131.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 39.34%. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 5th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 4th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $3,153,095.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 67,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,146,520.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 23,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.02, for a total value of $2,790,945.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 282,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,866,163.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $3,153,095.85. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 67,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,146,520.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,948 shares of company stock worth $10,643,727. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.79% of the company’s stock.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.