Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial initiated coverage on Ross Stores with a buy rating and a $270 price target, implying about 26.9% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: 17 analysts rate the stock a Buy, five have Hold ratings, and the consensus price target stands at $216.44.
• Ross Stores recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $2.00 EPS on $6.64 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year.

Research analysts at Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price target on the apparel retailer's stock. Truist Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.91% from the company's current price.

ROST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.44.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $212.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.21. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $231.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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