Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $150.32 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.97. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 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 net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,243,740,000 after buying an additional 346,474 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $682,511,000 after purchasing an additional 161,202 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,185,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $481,062,000 after purchasing an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% 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.