Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised its price target for Ross Stores from $165 to $175, signaling a potential upside of 17.25% from the last closing price.
• Institutional investors are increasing their stakes in Ross Stores, with Vanguard Group raising its position by 14.8% to become a major shareholder.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $160.67 from twelve analysts.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential upside of 17.25% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $149.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 464,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,124,019. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $521,159,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Ross Stores by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ross Stores by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by 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.

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