Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,476,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 51,219 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $257,834,000 after acquiring an additional 45,674 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 27,640 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,354 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1%

ROST stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,343,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,796,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.90. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, 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 note on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.94.

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.