Crew Capital Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises about 1.3% of Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after buying an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $86,732,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,260,515 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $190,678,000 after buying an additional 358,981 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $135.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $146.27 and its 200-day moving average is $147.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

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.