Natural Investments LLC Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,485 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $126.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.44 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.97. The firm has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

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.