Candriam S.C.A. Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 27.8% in Q1, holding 14,142 shares valued at approximately $1.81 million after selling 5,433 shares.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while revenue was $5.53 billion, slightly below the forecast.
• Ross Stores has a current dividend yield of 1.1%, with a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share set to be paid on September 30th.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,433 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $193,141,000 after purchasing an additional 377,554 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $1,476,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $147.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $48.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.85% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.00.

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.

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