Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ROST. UBS Group set a $203.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Friday, October 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.19.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $182.09 on Wednesday. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $185.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $58.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.03.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.75% and a net margin of 9.47%.The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,154,172. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 54.2% during the second quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 30,235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 10,625 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 22.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 11,676 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,949,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,526 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $255,355,000 after acquiring an additional 30,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% 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 to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.