1,612 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Bought by Longboard Asset Management LP

Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,612 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000. Ross Stores comprises 0.6% of Longboard Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.3 %

ROST stock opened at $147.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.90 and its 200 day moving average is $147.93.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.