Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $173.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $171.00 to $173.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup downgraded 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 4.9 %

ROST opened at $153.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.83. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 41.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 23.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 231.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,696 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $244,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 24.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 177,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,734,000 after buying an additional 10,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.