TD Cowen Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $185.00 to $177.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price indicates a potential upside of 27.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.50.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $2.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.94. The stock had a trading volume of 682,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,264,806. 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 market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.42.

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in 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.