Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Grows Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 577.6% during Q1, bringing its total holdings to 40,107 shares valued at $5.12 million.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.54, despite revenues of $5.53 billion being slightly below estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, with a yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on September 30th to shareholders of record on September 9th.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 577.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,107 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 34,188 shares during the period. Eisler Capital Management Ltd.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $147.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,633,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,327,832. The company has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $138.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.39.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.