Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 4th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the apparel retailer on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.
Ross Stores has increased its dividend by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years. Ross Stores has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ross Stores to earn $6.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.47 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.
ROST stock traded down $0.84 on Tuesday, reaching $135.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,094,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,926. The firm has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.78. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.06.
Read Our Latest Analysis on ROST
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.
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