Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $180.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ROST. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.53. The company has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROST. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 154.5% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 69.8% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after acquiring an additional 270,844 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 216.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,808 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,684,000 after purchasing an additional 49,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% 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.