Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Raised to "Overweight" at Wells Fargo & Company

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $150.00 target price on the apparel retailer's stock, up from their previous target price of $140.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.00% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.67.

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Ross Stores Trading Up 1.9 %

ROST traded up $2.62 on Tuesday, reaching $141.51. 4,388,458 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,653,630. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $133.80 and its 200-day moving average is $143.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.