Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the June 30th total of 4,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $140.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $144.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.78. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $153.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the sale, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.