Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Issues Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) updated its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.570-1.640 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.670. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ross Stores also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.100-6.170 EPS.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $3.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $142.96. 5,541,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.44. The firm has a market cap of $47.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.