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Ross Stores (ROST) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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Ross Stores (ROST - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $216.34, moving -2.2% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.08% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.18%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.1%.

Shares of the discount retailer witnessed a gain of 4.27% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its loss of 2.61%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.74%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Ross Stores in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.65, showcasing a 12.24% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $5.53 billion, indicating a 10.96% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $7.28 per share and a revenue of $24.19 billion, demonstrating changes of +10.14% and +6.34%, respectively, from the preceding year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Ross Stores. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.74% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Ross Stores is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, Ross Stores is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.4. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 29.99 of its industry.

We can additionally observe that ROST currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.03. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Retail - Discount Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.03.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 72, which puts it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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