TD Cowen Raises Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $176.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $173.00 to $176.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.68.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded up $10.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.59. The company had a trading volume of 978,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,534. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.42. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $100.66 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The company has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,243,740,000 after purchasing an additional 346,474 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after acquiring an additional 161,202 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $523,185,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.