Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $239.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4%

ROST stock opened at $231.60 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.45. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $157.73 and a fifty-two week high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $73.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.85.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.4450 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total transaction of $11,291,563.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,830,408.52. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total transaction of $1,475,335.84. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American State Bank Iowa grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. American State Bank Iowa now owns 5,911 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.5% in the third quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. now owns 2,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $222,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price apparel and home fashion retailer headquartered in Dublin, California. The company operates primarily through its Ross Dress for Less stores, which offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home merchandise at discounts to regular department and specialty store prices.

Ross Stores also operates dd’s DISCOUNTS, a chain focused on value-oriented apparel, accessories, footwear, and home products. Both retail formats generally purchase merchandise opportunistically from manufacturers, department stores, and other suppliers, allowing the company to offer changing assortments and discounted prices.

Founded in 1950, Ross Stores serves customers across the United States through its store network and e-commerce presence.