Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $220.58 and last traded at $219.9530, with a volume of 252685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $868,360,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after buying an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,167,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $570,590,000 after buying an additional 1,143,611 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.