Burney Co. Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Burney Co. lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 57.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 26,245 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $149.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.73. The company has a market cap of $49.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price 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 objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.29.

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.