Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $150.00 to $157.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.19% from the stock’s current price.

ROST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.20.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $6.98 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $149.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,663,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,994. The stock has a market cap of $49.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.