30,116 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Purchased by S Bank Fund Management Ltd

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. by purchasing 30,116 shares valued at approximately $3.85 million during the first quarter.
• Ross Stores reported quarterly earnings of $1.47 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.44, and had revenue of $4.98 billion, which was above the anticipated $4.94 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.405, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 30,116 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,849,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after buying an additional 14,998 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after buying an additional 377,554 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $1,476,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of ROST traded down $2.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $147.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,247,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,368,601. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.34. The firm has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.11. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.06.

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.