Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd 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 period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $145.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.28 and a 200-day moving average of $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 current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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 given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.