Bank of America Increases Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $180.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ROST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. 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, August 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $157.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.21 and a 200-day moving average of $142.25.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,306 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,148,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 58,471 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,497,000 after buying an additional 4,286 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $421,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,123 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. 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.