Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,385 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,152,000 after acquiring an additional 186,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ROST opened at $149.28 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $151.12 and its 200 day moving average is $147.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

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.