StockNews.com Lowers Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

ROST has been the subject of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $150.53 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.10 and its 200-day moving average is $142.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% 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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.