Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,203 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $139.09 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.