Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Has $5.37 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,996 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,142 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up about 1.3% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $146.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $135.11 and its 200 day moving average is $137.25.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.59%.

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.