Cozad Asset Management Inc. Invests $221,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROST. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $127.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.71. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.