Lewis Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, purchasing 4,620 shares valued at around $589,000 during the second quarter.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and saw a revenue increase of 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%.

Lewis Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,620 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Ross Stores by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,390 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 371.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 304,923 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $38,902,000 after acquiring an additional 240,227 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.7% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 63,242 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 18.5% during the second quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 806,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $102,923,000 after purchasing an additional 125,740 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.0%

ROST stock traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $144.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,294,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,464,647. The company has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $144.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Ross Stores Company 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.