Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Short Interest Update

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,660,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the September 30th total of 3,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.31. 1,294,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,226,653. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $114.06 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.53. The company has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $1,587,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% during the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 15,708 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,196 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,941 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 133,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $20,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 901,534 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $135,690,000 after buying an additional 102,185 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

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.