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Ross Stores (ROST) ended the recent trading session at $149.79, demonstrating a +0.57% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.61%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.3%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.28%.
Shares of the discount retailer witnessed a loss of 1.02% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its gain of 2.32% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.08%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Ross Stores in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.65, down 9.34% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.92 billion, down 1.77% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.17 per share and revenue of $21.13 billion. These totals would mark changes of +10.97% and +3.71%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Ross Stores. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Ross Stores presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Ross Stores is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.12. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 20.63 for its industry.
Investors should also note that ROST has a PEG ratio of 2.46 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.35.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 27, this industry ranks in the top 11% of all industries, numbering over 250.