Earlier in the week, I exhibited a bearish tone on Ross Stores (ROST). I haven't had a change of heart necessarily, but I do have to concede that the company's latest earnings report, issued yesterday morning, was a good one.

According to Reuters, Q4 net profit increased 18% to $1.37 per share. While this number merely met Wall Street's projection, I enjoyed the growth rate. Furthermore, same-store sales experienced a healthy 4% expansion.

Ross Stores (RST), a retailer whose colleagues include Kohl's (KSS) and Wal-Mart (WMT), is set to report earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday, March 17. Should investors give this one a look before the release?

Arguably, one probably should. According to Trey Thoelcke's fundamental review of the chain's current status, things appear to be going well. Same-store sales were robust during the month of November, rising 6%; in December, they increased 4%. More recently, comps in February went up a respectable 3%.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets again this week to review economic conditions and set monetary policy. On whether the Fed should end quantitative easing or extend it, Atlanta Fed chairman Dennis Lockhart recently said that the Fed should remain flexible given the rising energy prices, which could be a sign of coming inflation. Either at this meeting or the next, the Fed could signal that interest rates will rise as a hedge against inflation.

Inflation will also be the focus when the Department of Labor releases the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week. Back in January the core PPI (which excludes energy and food costs) had its biggest jump in two years, and the core CPI had its largest uptick in more than year, the second month in a row in which consumer prices jumped.

Last January I suggested that shares of Ross Stores (ROST) might be as much of a bargain as the merchandise it sells. That turned out to be true. The stock has outpaced the market considerably. At the time, it was trading at $45.20. Last week, on Sept. 3, Ross closed at $52.60 for a year-to-date gain of 16.37%.

Ross pays a small dividend yielding 1.12%. It is not high, but it exceeds what you're getting from money market accounts or CDs and, added to the stocks appreciating, it's a bonus.

After this nice gain, how do the metrics shape up today? Is it too late to make some money here?

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Gap (GPS) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations for EPS to grow in FY11. The firm thinks consensus estimates are achievable and has a $20 to $22 target valuation range for shares.
• BMO Capital upgraded Abercrombie (ANF) to outperform from market perform and has a $43 target on the stock. The firm believes Abercrombie's domestic business is turning and that the company is beginning to take share from competitors.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Codexis (CDXS) to overweight from neutral as it believes Shell's (RDS.A) biofuel commercialization plans and a potential carbon capture partnership present near-term catalysts for the stock. The firm upped its target for shares to $12 from $11.
• Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) and Tortoise Energy (TYG) were upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Comerica (CMA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Methanex (MEOH) was upgraded to strong buy from outperform at Raymond James.

"In our newsletter, we maintain numerous model portfolios based on the strategies of leading investors, such as Warren Buffett, Ben Graham and Peter Lynch," explains John Reese.

The editor of Validea asserts, "Our Kenneth Fisher-based Portfolio has shown a 7-year annualized return of 11.9%; this approach focuses on a metric Fisher pioneered: the price/sales ratio.

"While investors for decades relied heavily on the P/E ratio, Fisher found that earnings -- even the earnings of good companies -- can fluctuate greatly from year to year.

If I was making my 2010 picks list today, I might have found a spot for Ross Stores (ROST), the holding company for Ross Dress for Less. Analysts have a hold or market perform rating on the stock, but that is meaningless to me. What does have meaning is 20% sales growth in a dismal year, contributing to a PEG ratio of .75 and an under market P/E of 12.66 (averaging trailing and future figures).

These are very good numbers, however, in reviewing some of the data points with Raphael P., a helpful broker in the Pleasant Hill, CA Wells Fargo (WFC) office, I was reminded that different financial sites have varying numbers. They usually vary by small fractions, as did the Wells data compared to the Aol (AOL) Money and Finance site, so I would encourage investors to check multiple sources.

The 2009 equity market recovery has led to an increase in Q ratios for the world's largest retailers. What does this mean? They're using their tangible assets effectively and have demonstrated the strength of intangible factors, such as brand and operational efficiency, to create shareholder value.

"Q" is the ratio of a public company's market capitalization to the market value of its tangible assets. So, a Q ratio of above one means that investors value the company's non-tangible assets -- e.g., brand, differentiation, innovation, customer experience and customer loyalty -- and see these factors as reasons to pay a higher price per share. A company with a Q ratio of below one can't generate a sufficient return on its physical assets. According to Deloitte, this could create an arbitrage opportunity, as it may be ripe for an acquisition.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to buy from hold after channel checks indicated display advertising is seeing continued improvement in pricing and demand. The firm finds the risk/reward profile on Yahoo! shares attractive at current levels and raised its price target on the stock to $20 from $19.
• Citigroup upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold following the company's investor meeting as it believes new product launches will serve as catalysts in 2010. Citi raised its target on shares to $101 from $72.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded BWAY Holding (BWY) to buy from hold following the company's Q4 results and raised its target on shares to $22 from $17.
• Clearwire (CLWR) was upgraded to buy from sell at Soleil.
• Nokia (NOK) was raised to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) was upgraded at JPMorgan to overweight from neutral.

Last week we looked at expectations for some retail earnings. More shopping mall favorites are reporting second-quarter results this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for significant earnings growth from some of them.

Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO), the teen-focused retailer spun off from Macy's (NYSE: M) in 1998, is expected to post a second-quarter profit that is 44.6% higher than a year ago, or $0.56 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 19.7% higher, or $451.3 million. For the full year, the forecast so far is for $2.98 per share (+25.8%) on $2.2 billion (+14.6%). Earnings of the New York-based company have matched estimates in recent quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 13.9%, which is better than the retail industry average and rival Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF). Aeropostale's earnings multiple is 12x, and this debt-free company's cash flow from operations swung into positive territory in the first quarter. The First Call consensus recommendation is to buy ARO; The Motley Fool identified it as a Wall Street favorite. Shares are down a couple of bucks from the 52-week high of $38.74 back in July, but are still 123.0% higher year to date.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) reported a smaller-than-expected Q1 loss as sales slumped.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) smaller-than-expected Q1 net loss sent shares higher.
• Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) solid Q1 results were in line with expectations.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) posted higher-than-expected Q1 results but same-store sales fell.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) lower Q1 earnings beat expectations and lower revenue was in line.

Shares of discount retailer Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) have been soaring today after the company reported strong first quarter numbers, and raised its future guidance.

It is no secret that shoppers are looking for bargain deals these days, and that trend resulted in a 3% jump in same store sales for Ross, and a 15% jump in its first quarter earnings. The company's earnings came in at 72 cents per share, which was in line with analyst estimates, and its revenues were above what Wall Street was looking to see.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve's FOMC holds two-day meeting on interest rates and will announce its decision on Wednesday. The Fed's Ben Bernanke will still be out and about this week, discussing the failure of Lehman Brothers later today, and ending up the week speaking at the Independent Community Bankers of America National Convention and Techworld.

Manufacturing will be in focus this week, starting with industrial production numbers for February and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey Diffusion Index for March scheduled to be released Monday morning. Tuesday morning will bring us the Producer Price Index for February, and Thursday morning comes the Philadelphia Fed Outlook Survey -- Diffusion Index Manufacturing for March.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) is a leading U.S. off-price retailer of name brand apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashions. The firm operates 888 Ross Dress for Less stores and 55 dd's Discounts locations, in 27 states and Guam. Target (NYSE: TGT) and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) are major competitors.

The company pleased investors late last month, when it reported Q2 EPS of 54 cents and revenues of $1.64 billion. Analysts had been expecting 54 cents and $1.61 billion. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 42-44 cents (43 cent consensus) and Q4 EPS to 78-81 cents (80 cent consensus). CL King subsequently reiterated its "strong buy" rating on the shares and the firm was able to report August same store sales that topped the Wall Street view.

Rival home improvement chains Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Not surprisingly, given the ongoing housing slump, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect both companies to post earnings lower than in the same period a year ago. For Home Depot, that's 61 cents per share, down 20.8%, and for Lowe's, 56 cents per share, down 16.4%. Meanwhile, cabinet maker American Woodmark Corp. (NASDAQ: AMWD), for whom Home Depot and Lowe's are major distributors, is also expected to report lower earnings: 11 cents per share, down 67.6%.

The presidential campaigns have prompted much discussion of energy policy and alternative energy sources. Some solar-energy-related concerns are scheduled to report this week, and expectations seem to be high. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is expected to report 81 cents per share earnings, up 67.9%; ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is expected to post earnings of 32 cents per share, up 62.5%; and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) is expected to have earnings of 32 cents per share, up 21.9%. Even China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSUN) is expected to have swung to a profit of 3 cents per share, from a per-share loss of 14 cents a year ago.