Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Lowered to $175.00 at Loop Capital

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target reduced by Loop Capital from $190.00 to $175.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ROST has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.12.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $138.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.64. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,094,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 46,853 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,805,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.