Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $128.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential downside of 9.50% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ROST. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.73.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.0 %

Ross Stores stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $141.44. The company had a trading volume of 320,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,643,942. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $133.64 and its 200-day moving average is $142.40.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total value of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 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.

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