Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Position Boosted by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital increased its Ross Stores stake by 61.7% in Q3 to 206,510 shares, making ROST its third‑largest position and valuing the holding at about $31.47 million.
• Ross beat quarterly expectations with $2.00 EPS versus $1.90 consensus and reported revenue of $6.64 billion (vs. $6.42 billion), a 12.2% year‑over‑year increase.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (from $0.41), equal to a $1.78 annualized payout and a ~0.9% yield, with an ex‑dividend date of March 13 and payment on March 31.

Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,510 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 78,812 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises approximately 1.5% of Cinctive Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cinctive Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $31,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 152.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $206.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $216.80. The firm has a market cap of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50 day moving average price is $196.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.40.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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