Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 6.100-6.170 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 6.140. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ross Stores also updated its FY25 guidance to $6.10-$6.17 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $3.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $142.96. The company had a trading volume of 5,801,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,225. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.44.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the 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 owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.