Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the June 30th total of 4,550,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $1,094,000. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 232.6% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after acquiring an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 782,739 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $108,323,000 after purchasing an additional 21,984 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.91. 1,853,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,126,816. The company has a market cap of $47.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $153.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $144.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.