Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.93% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.53.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $162.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $165.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,036 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 22.2% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,858 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 65.5% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 136,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,386,000 after purchasing an additional 53,846 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.0% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 96,783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 185,882 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $23,754,000 after purchasing an additional 42,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.