Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $160.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROST. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $156.58.

Ross Stores Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $150.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.52. Ross Stores has a one year low of $106.47 and a one year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,717 shares of company stock valued at $7,141,031. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 191.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,505 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 12,809 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5,928.6% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,266 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 148.4% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 47,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after buying an additional 28,140 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 23.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.