Ross Stores’ (ROST) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $160.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ROST. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.53.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.25 on Thursday, reaching $160.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,918,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,925,867. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $154.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.05. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $165.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 11,676 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,109 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 54.2% in the second quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 30,235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 10,625 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 98.4% in the 1st quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 104,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $13,316,000 after purchasing an additional 51,692 shares in the last quarter. 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.