Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday.

ROST has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

ROST stock opened at $139.73 on Monday. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.85.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 917.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after buying an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.