Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Given “Buy” Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $180.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.