Brokerages Set Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target at $159.06

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.0625.

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $325,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 15.2% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,707 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 195.2% during the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 24,343 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 16,096 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $111,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 406,066 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,994 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $146.35 on Thursday. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.54 and a 200-day moving average of $137.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%.The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.59%.

About Ross Stores

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.