Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Bank of America

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $265.00 to $258.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ROST has been the topic of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.06.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.9%

ROST opened at $232.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $74.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.83. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $157.39 and a twelve month high of $257.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $231.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.88.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total transaction of $1,475,335.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares in the company, valued at $11,865,383.90. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 402.4% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.