Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Increased to $140.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $140.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.52% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.86.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $120.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.22 and a 200 day moving average of $112.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.00. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $94.34 and a 52 week high of $125.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 20,749 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.73, for a total transaction of $2,318,285.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,978,974.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $3,153,095.85. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 67,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,146,520.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 20,749 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.73, for a total transaction of $2,318,285.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,978,974.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,948 shares of company stock worth $10,643,727 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dryden Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ross Stores by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,079,146 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $326,790,000 after acquiring an additional 22,580 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,355 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 3.2% during the second quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 16.7% during the first quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.79% 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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.