TheStreet Lowers Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) to C+

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) was downgraded by TheStreet from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, TheStreetRatingsTable reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $122.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Monday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $139.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $125.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.88.

Ross Stores stock opened at $71.87 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.92 and its 200 day moving average is $101.16. The company has a market capitalization of $25.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $69.75 and a 12-month high of $127.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 19th. The apparel retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 39.79%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.90 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 74,175 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,074,000 after purchasing an additional 37,363 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in Ross Stores by 12.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 29,407 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 69,135 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,899,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.02% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores (Get Rating)

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. 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 primarily 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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