By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Ross Stores stock (NASDAQ:ROST) traded 1.2% lower in Monday’s premarket following a downgrade by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) WFC, according to StreetInsider.
Analyst Ike Boruchow now rates the stock ‘equal weight’ with a target of $120, 11% down from his previous target of $135 when he was ‘over weight’ on it. The stock had closed at $114.28 Friday.
The analyst highlights the growing concern over the low-end consumer (where ROST plays more so than any other name under Boruchow's coverage). According to Boruchow, the stock is fairly valued.
The company operates Ross Dress for Less, an off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the U.S.
For the third quarter ended October 30, Ross reported a net profit $385 million on sales of $4.6 billion, with comparable store sales up a strong 14%.
The company expects financial year 2021 earnings per share to be $4.70 at midpoint of its guidance range on a comparable store sales gain of 12.5%. It said in November that industry-wide supply chain congestion was worsening even as consumer demand remained strong.
It said it was on track to buy back shares worth $650 million in the ongoing financial year.