Wealth Alliance Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Wealth Alliance cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 193 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 46,990 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,108,000 after buying an additional 24,201 shares during the period. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 233,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,332,000 after purchasing an additional 36,200 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $136.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Company 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.