Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $165.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $178.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.49% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.95 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

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.