Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,385 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $149.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.92. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.