Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded by Citigroup to "Buy" Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $146.00 price objective on the apparel retailer's stock.

ROST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.67.

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Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $129.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,233,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,619. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $135.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.