Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by Sanford C. Bernstein in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $165.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $178.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.71% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.0 %

ROST opened at $154.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.99 and its 200-day moving average is $147.61. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 106.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares in 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.