Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New $269,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,802 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third 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 bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $86,732,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Ross Stores by 478.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $60,235,000 after buying an additional 331,007 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.95.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus 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.