Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $140.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $164.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.13% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $149.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.