Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $170.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Evercore ISI's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.15% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,473,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,701,193. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.93. The stock has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.