Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives $161.67 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $160.87.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROST. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.46. 132,038 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,046,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.