Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Short Interest Update

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, a decrease of 20.4% from the May 15th total of 5,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,038 shares of company stock valued at $10,526,384 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 515.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,437.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $142,039,000 after acquiring an additional 959,594 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.93. 2,670,724 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,934,213. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $48.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.