Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.430-1.490 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.450. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ross Stores also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 5.790-5.980 EPS.

Ross Stores Trading Up 7.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $142.13 on Friday. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $100.66 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $156.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 19,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.39, for a total value of $2,783,459.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 119,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,561,237.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.