Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Lowered by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,682 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 616,860 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 59.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Ross Stores by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $291,734,000 after purchasing an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded up $3.07 on Wednesday, reaching $154.63. 2,437,791 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,116,915. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.54 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $148.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.56. 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 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’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 fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.