Yousif Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,845 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $35,000. Steward Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 164.1% in the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $132.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.24 and its 200 day moving average is $135.14.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

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.