Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ROST opened at $155.21 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.33. The company has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.