JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Price

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $166.00 to $161.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.30% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $139.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,287,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,664,781. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $133.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Ross Stores by 231.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.