Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) will release its second-quarter earnings report after the closing bell on Thursday, Aug. 20.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share, up from $1.56 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for ROST’s quarterly revenue is $6.15 billion. It reported $5.53 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Evercore ISI Group analyst Michael Binetti maintained an Outperform rating on Ross Stores on Aug. 17 and raised the price target from $265 to $276.

With the recent buzz around Ross Stores, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends too. As of now, Ross Stores has an annual dividend yield of 0.76%, with a quarterly dividend of 44.5 cents per share ($1.78 per year).  

So, how can investors use its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 per month?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $791,140 or around 3,371 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $158,181 or around 674 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($1.78 in this case). So, $6,000 / $1.78 = 3,371 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $1.78 = 674 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: The dividend yield is computed by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, its yield will also increase, provided the stock price remains unchanged. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

ROST Price Action: Shares of Ross Stores fell 0.7% to close at $234.69 on Wednesday.

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