Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,923 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 46,990 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,108,000 after acquiring an additional 24,201 shares during the period. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $303,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 233,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,332,000 after purchasing an additional 36,200 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $136.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.14 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’s fifty day moving average is $147.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ross Stores

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.