Xponance Inc. Buys 910 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,899 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.77 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $141.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ROST. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.