Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $140.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $165.00 to $140.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ROST has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.07.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $135.96 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.49. The company has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.