Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.97. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.