Ross Stores, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of 0.445 per share by the apparel retailer on Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th.

Ross Stores has raised its dividend by an average of 0.4%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Ross Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 26.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ross Stores to earn $8.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.78 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.9%.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $234.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.46. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $143.39 and a 52-week high of $257.00. The company has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,026 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Ross Stores by 2.8% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.