DUBLIN, Calif. (AP) _ Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) on Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $370.9 million.

The Dublin, California-based company said it had profit of $1.03 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 97 cents per share.

The discount retailer posted revenue of $3.85 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.78 billion.

Ross Stores expects full-year earnings to be $4.52 to $4.57 per share.

Ross Stores shares have increased 34% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 24%. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $111.66, an increase of 37% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ROST at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ROST

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News