Evercore ISI Increases Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $165.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $155.00 to $165.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.13% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ROST. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $131.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $100.66 and a 12-month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,271 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $503,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.8% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 157.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 66,773 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 40,866 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.