Citigroup Upgrades Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) to “Buy”

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $146.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.04% from the stock’s previous close.

ROST has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $130.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.07. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 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.