Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 9,322 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 9.1% during the first quarter, selling 9,322 shares and holding a total of 93,616 shares valued at approximately $11.96 million.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates, and had a 4.6% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, resulting in a yield of 1.1%, with the payment set for September 30th.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,616 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 9,322 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 270,488 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,917,000 after buying an additional 4,530 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $540,461,000 after buying an additional 386,838 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $6,416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of ROST traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $147.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,633,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,348,483. The firm has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $138.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.37. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 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 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 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.