Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Given New $177.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $185.00 to $177.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $139.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.76 and a 200 day moving average of $144.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.