272,995 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 272,995 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $58,107,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $229.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $143.39 and a 12 month high of $257.00. The company has a market cap of $73.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 21.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.76.

About Ross Stores

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.