Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,028,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $5,938,711,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $868,360,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at $385,441,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after buying an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.76.

Trending Headlines about Ross Stores

Here are the key news stories impacting Ross Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat supports upside: Ross Stores substantially exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported double-digit revenue growth, reinforcing investor confidence in its off-price retail model. Ross Stores Trounces Earnings, Set To Retake Buy Point
• Positive Sentiment: Higher price targets: JPMorgan raised its price target to $272, while Robert W. Baird forecast strong potential appreciation. These actions suggest some analysts see additional upside following the earnings performance. JPMorgan Raises Ross Stores Price Target Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation
• Positive Sentiment: Technical setup improves: A market forecast indicates that recent support has held across multiple timeframes, potentially allowing ROST to break above $245 and pursue higher technical targets. Ross Stores Price Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains constructive: Ross Stores carries an average “Moderate Buy” recommendation, indicating generally favorable sentiment but not unanimous conviction. Ross Stores Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS maintained a Hold rating, providing a counterpoint to the more bullish price-target revisions. UBS Maintains Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains focused on retail momentum and ROST’s outperformance versus TJX, although commentary from Jim Cramer is not a fundamental earnings catalyst. Jim Cramer Discusses Ross Stores and TJX

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ROST opened at $241.52 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $233.90 and its 200 day moving average is $222.44. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.39 and a fifty-two week high of $257.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.Ross Stores’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

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.