Ross Stores Earns Record 3rd Qtr Profit (ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. ROST on Thursday morning released financial results that were in line with Wall Street expectations. Ross Stores, Inc reported that its 3rd quarter net earnings climbed 16% to $121.4 million, or $1.02 per share, up from $105.1 million, or 84 cents per share, a year earlier. The company's sales rose 7% to $1.87 billion, up from $1.74 billion a year earlier. A poll of analysts conducted by Thomson Reuters showed an average Wall Street estimate of expected earnings of $1.02 per share, on revenue of $1.85 billion. Vice chairman and chief executive officer Michael Balmuth said, "We delivered strong sales and earnings increases in the third quarter and first nine months of 2010 on top of outstanding gains in the prior year. This performance is especially noteworthy considering the ongoing uncertainty in the macro-economic and retail environment. Record operating margins in the third quarter and year-to-date periods were driven by our continued ability to deliver exciting bargains while operating our business on lower inventories, as well as much better-than-expected shortage results. The best performing merchandise categories during the third quarter were Dresses and Home. Geographic trends were relatively broad-based, with the strongest performance in Florida." Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) ended the previous trading session at $65.40 per share. Analysts covering the company's stock have a consensus price target of $62.91 per share. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.