Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ROST. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.4 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $145.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after purchasing an additional 18,685 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.