Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores updated its Q2 guidance to $1.43-1.49 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $5.79-5.98 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $142.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $100.66 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.85 and a 200-day moving average of $137.56.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim raised their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.58.

About Ross Stores

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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.