JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $173.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $171.00 to $173.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.42% from the stock's current price.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2 %

Ross Stores stock traded up $3.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $146.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,266,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,011,510. The company has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.53. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $183,263,000 after buying an additional 469,717 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.