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Ross (ROST) to Post Q1 Earnings: Stock Likely to Disappoint?

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Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST - Free Report) , an off-price retailer of apparel and home accessories, is scheduled to release first-quarter fiscal 2017 results on May 18, after market close. Investors are keen to know whether this California based company will be able to continue its streak of positive earnings and revenue surprises.

In the trailing four quarters, Ross Stores has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 4.8%. In the preceding quarter, the company witnessed a positive earnings surprise of 2.7%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for the company before this announcement.

What to Expect?

The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter under review is 80 cents compared with 73 cents reported in the year-ago period. We note that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has been stable lately. Analysts polled by Zacks expect revenues of $3,280 million, up approximately 6% from the year-ago quarter.

Ross Stores forms part of the Retail-Wholesale sector that is currently placed at bottom 6% of the Zacks Classified sectors (15 out of 16). As per the latest Earnings Outlook, total earnings for the sector are anticipated to decline 1.8%, while revenues are expected to advance 3.3%. We noted that the Retail-Wholesale sector has outperformed the broader market in the past three months. This Zacks categorized sector gained 9.4%, while the S&P 500 index advanced 3.4%.

Factors at Play

Ross Stores has underperformed the Zacks categorized Retail-Discount Stores industry in the past three months.The stock has declined 4.1% compared with the industry’s gain of 0.2%.

The company remains concerned about tough year-over-year comparisons amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a volatile retail landscape. Further, threats of stiff competition and cannibalization remain. Nevertheless, the company has been targeting value conscious consumers effectively, focusing on its merchandises and store expansion plan as well as concentrating on cost containment efforts.

The company had earlier projected comps growth in the range of 1–2% for first-quarter fiscal 2017. Earnings are expected in the band of 76–79 cents per share with total sales anticipated to increase between 4% and 5%.

What Does the Zacks Model Say?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ross Stores is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) and a positive Earnings ESP for this to happen. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Ross Stores has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 80 cents. Moreover, the company carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +10.00% and a Zacks Rank of #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank of #2.

DSW Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

Ross Stores, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) - free report >>

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