AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 53% during Q1, owning only 2,970 shares after selling 3,349 shares.
• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 17%, now holding over 34 million shares valued at approximately $4.36 billion.
• Analysts provide mixed ratings on Ross Stores, with target price adjustments and ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold," indicating cautious optimism about the stock's future performance.

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 53.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,970 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 3,349 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. 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, UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of ROST stock traded up $4.09 on Tuesday, hitting $151.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,132,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,214,177. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $138.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.52. The company has a market cap of $49.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 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.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.