Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.57% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Down 12.5%

Shares of ROST stock traded down $19.00 on Friday, hitting $133.25. The stock had a trading volume of 9,421,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,676,575. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.92 and a 200 day moving average of $142.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 274.3% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.