Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $171.29.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Capital Market Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,152,000 after acquiring an additional 186,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $151.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.69 and a 200-day moving average of $147.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.