Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Short Interest Update

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,360,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the August 31st total of 3,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $151.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,727,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,211,474. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $109.19 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $147.77 and a 200-day moving average of $143.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

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.