Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSTGet Free Report) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.06.

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ROST

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $149.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.92.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROSTGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)

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