Eukles Asset Management Buys 258 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Eukles Asset Management boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,247 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 23.2% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,035 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 28.5% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 62.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,219 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 296.9% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,687 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 158.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $142.59 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.04 and a 200 day moving average of $147.96. The firm has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.