Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.57-$1.64 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.67. Ross Stores also updated its FY25 guidance to $6.10-$6.17 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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 dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.6 %

ROST traded up $3.64 on Thursday, hitting $142.96. The company had a trading volume of 5,128,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,292,243. The company has a market cap of $47.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% 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.