Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ROST. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 9.8%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $137.26 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $138.19 and its 200-day moving average is $142.94. 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 $45.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during 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. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.