Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Updates Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) updated its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.570-1.640 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.670. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ross Stores also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.100-6.170 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of ROST opened at $146.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.62.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.