Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ROST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ross Stores from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.61.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $229.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.83. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $156.41 and a 1 year high of $257.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.4450 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 21.55%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% 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, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total transaction of $11,291,563.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,938,711,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $1,937,995,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,408,148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,118,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $476,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price apparel and home fashion retailer headquartered in Dublin, California. The company operates primarily through its Ross Dress for Less stores, which offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home merchandise at discounts to regular department and specialty store prices.

Ross Stores also operates dd’s DISCOUNTS, a chain focused on value-oriented apparel, accessories, footwear, and home products. Both retail formats generally purchase merchandise opportunistically from manufacturers, department stores, and other suppliers, allowing the company to offer changing assortments and discounted prices.

Founded in 1950, Ross Stores serves customers across the United States through its store network and e-commerce presence.