Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Eukles Asset Management

Eukles Asset Management boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the quarter. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.94.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $131.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.96. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

Ross Stores 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.