Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues FY25 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $6.10-$6.17 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $6.13. Ross Stores also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.100-6.170 EPS.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.43. 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 has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ROST. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.50.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.