Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Given “Buy” Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped 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, August 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $153.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.83. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.