Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has invested $9.35 million in Ross Stores, acquiring 73,163 shares, indicating growing interest in the apparel retailer.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $159.06 for Ross Stores, with JPMorgan Chase raising their price objective from $154 to $156, while several others made adjustments to their ratings.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting a 1.1% yield and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 73,163 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $9,350,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 8.7% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 64,384 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,141 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Ross Stores by 19.2% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 92,329 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,799,000 after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Ross Stores by 27.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 304,614 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,926,000 after acquiring an additional 65,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 9.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 631,301 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $80,706,000 after acquiring an additional 54,877 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $147.38. 3,247,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,070,308. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $134.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

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.