Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target at $169.71

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.71.

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $151.56 on Monday. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $109.19 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 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.