Leuthold Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,634 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,226 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $136.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.80. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

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.