Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Lowered to $177.00 at TD Cowen

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $185.00 to $177.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. TD Cowen's price target suggests a potential upside of 27.10% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ROST. Barclays upped their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.50.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded down $2.04 on Tuesday, reaching $139.26. 2,583,852 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,273,287. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $145.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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.