Ross Stores (ROST) Competitors

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) and Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) are related companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ROST or GO?

86.9% of Ross Stores shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.9% of Grocery Outlet shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Ross Stores shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Grocery Outlet shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor ROST or GO?

In the previous week, Grocery Outlet had 4 more articles in the media than Ross Stores. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Grocery Outlet and 20 mentions for Ross Stores. Ross Stores' average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Grocery Outlet's score of 0.68 indicating that Ross Stores is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ross Stores	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Grocery Outlet	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ROST or GO?

Ross Stores has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grocery Outlet has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ROST or GO more profitable?

Ross Stores has a net margin of 9.79% compared to Grocery Outlet's net margin of 0.18%. Ross Stores' return on equity of 38.77% beat Grocery Outlet's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ross Stores	9.79%	38.77%	14.16%
Grocery Outlet	0.18%	6.32%	2.37%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ROST or GO?

Ross Stores has higher revenue and earnings than Grocery Outlet. Ross Stores is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grocery Outlet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ross Stores	$21.13B	2.27	$2.09B	$6.33	23.15
Grocery Outlet	$4.37B	0.42	$39.47M	$0.16	116.13

Do analysts rate ROST or GO?

Ross Stores currently has a consensus target price of $159.06, suggesting a potential upside of 8.54%. Grocery Outlet has a consensus target price of $16.08, suggesting a potential downside of 13.47%. Given Ross Stores' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ross Stores is more favorable than Grocery Outlet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ross Stores	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82
Grocery Outlet	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.15

Summary

Ross Stores beats Grocery Outlet on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.