Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Cut to $159.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $161.00 to $159.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.02% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.11.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

ROST stock traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $132.48. 2,802,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,078,046. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. Ross Stores has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $243,135,000 after buying an additional 1,471,585 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,437.1% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $142,039,000 after buying an additional 959,594 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.