Wells Fargo & Company Increases Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $140.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ROST. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ross Stores from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $129.38.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $129.43 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.66. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $131.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 39.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 5th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 4th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $3,153,095.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 67,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,146,520.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.07, for a total value of $2,381,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,366,954.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $3,153,095.85. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 67,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,146,520.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,948 shares of company stock worth $10,643,727. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.79% 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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.