Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. Acquires New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,388 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,152,000 after purchasing an additional 186,161 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $150.27 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $151.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.