Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 110,173 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $23,450,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.7%

ROST opened at $229.87 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $143.39 and a one year high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 21.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.76.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.