Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Evercore ISI

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective reduced by Evercore ISI from $175.00 to $170.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.12.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $138.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.