Ross Stores FY2028 EPS Estimate Raised by Erste Group Bank

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2028 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ross Stores in a report released on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the apparel retailer will earn $8.17 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $8.14. The consensus estimate for Ross Stores’ current full-year earnings is $7.32 per share.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $224.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $217.05 and a 200-day moving average of $192.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $231.16.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,911,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,506,099,000 after purchasing an additional 99,975 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,487,720,000 after buying an additional 180,182 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $979,384,000 after buying an additional 79,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $868,360,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $605,704,000 after acquiring an additional 426,370 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.