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

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Ross Stores from $150.00 to $165.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.31% from the stock's previous close.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.56, surpassing the consensus estimate and indicating a 4.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• A majority of analysts maintain a positive outlook on Ross Stores, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $160.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $165.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the apparel retailer's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.00.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ROST traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $147.45. 3,371,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,148,442. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.11. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,974,551 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,782,873,000 after acquiring an additional 61,168 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,268,700 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,310,081,000 after acquiring an additional 51,765 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,102,077,000 after acquiring an additional 133,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.