Crew Capital Management Ltd. Buys 697 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises approximately 1.3% of Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped 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, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $135.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.70. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.