Ross Stores (ROST) closed its latest trading session at $234.83, a 1.85% increase from the previous day. This performance exceeded the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.33%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.08% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.08%. The discount retailer's outperformance against the broader market benchmarks raises questions about its near-term trajectory ahead of its upcoming earnings disclosure.
Over the past month, Ross Stores shares have climbed by 2.57%. This gain surpassed the 0.37% rise in the Retail-Wholesale sector and the 1.41% increase in the S&P 500 over the same period. The stock's relative strength suggests investors are positioning ahead of the company's financial results.
Analysts project Ross Stores will report earnings of $1.82 per share in its upcoming disclosure, representing year-over-year growth of 15.19%. The consensus estimate anticipates revenue of $6.2 billion, indicating a 10.68% upward movement from the same quarter last year. For the full year, Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $8.77 per share and revenue of $25.65 billion. These figures indicate changes of +32.68% and +12.76%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Recent changes to analyst estimates reflect evolving short-term business trends, with upward revisions expressing positivity toward business operations and profit generation. Zacks research indicates a direct correlation between these estimate changes and near-term stock prices. The firm's proprietary Zacks Rank model incorporates these changes to provide an actionable rating system ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). Externally audited data shows that #1 ranked stocks have yielded an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Currently, Ross Stores features a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), although the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Valuation metrics suggest the stock trades at a premium relative to its industry peers. Ross Stores currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.28, compared to an industry average Forward P/E of 22.09. The company's PEG ratio stands at 1.8, which matches the average PEG ratio for the Retail - Discount Stores industry as trading concluded yesterday. This metric adjusts for expected earnings growth rate.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the broader Retail-Wholesale sector and holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 5. This rank places the industry in the top 3% of all 250+ industries tracked by Zacks. The industry rank is calculated by averaging the Zacks Rank of individual stocks within the group. Zacks research states that top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.