Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $138.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $149.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.