Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Lowered to $165.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $175.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential upside of 15.93% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.00.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.87 on Thursday, hitting $142.33. 3,184,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,269,432. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $119.73 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.12 EPS 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 that occurred 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 owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in 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 buying an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 59.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $291,734,000 after acquiring an additional 390,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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.