Loop Capital Cuts Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $175.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price points to a potential upside of 26.23% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ROST. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.35.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $2.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,162,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.70.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.