Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.68 on Monday, hitting $138.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,350,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,993. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.53 and its 200-day moving average is $147.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after buying an additional 26,598 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.