Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $170.00 at Guggenheim

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target increased by Guggenheim from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROST. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $156.58.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $10.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.13. 7,641,385 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,725,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.56. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $100.66 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was 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 $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,167 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 782,739 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $108,323,000 after buying an additional 21,984 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.