Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by Wells Fargo & Company in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $165.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.74% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $149.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.67. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in 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 worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.