Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $156.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its target price on Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) stock from $154.00 to $156.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.77% from its current price and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Other analysts have varied opinions on Ross Stores, with Jefferies upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating and setting a target price of $150.00, while Evercore ISI reduced its target to $160.00.
• Ross Stores recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.47 EPS, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $4.98 billion, reflecting a 2.6% increase year-over-year.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $154.00 to $156.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the apparel retailer's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST traded up $2.49 on Monday, hitting $140.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,687,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,210. The company's fifty day moving average price is $135.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.69. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $46.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after acquiring an additional 377,554 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at $328,000. Finally, Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $8,516,000. 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.