Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $168.00 to $156.00. The stock had previously closed at $135.97, but opened at $129.40. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ross Stores shares last traded at $136.99, with a volume of 761,826 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $146.27 and a 200 day moving average of $147.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

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.