SG Americas Securities LLC Has $31.56 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its Ross Stores stake by 164.2% in Q4, buying 108,883 shares to hold 175,212 shares valued at $31.56 million (about 0.05% of the company).
• Ross beat quarterly expectations with $2.00 EPS (vs. $1.90) and $6.64 billion in revenue (+12.2% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78).
• Wall Street is largely positive—16 Buy and 5 Hold ratings give a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $208.29—while company insiders recently sold small portions of their holdings (insiders own ~2.2%).

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 164.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,212 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 108,883 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.05% of Ross Stores worth $31,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $216.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.07 and a one year high of $216.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $199.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.84. The stock has a market cap of $69.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Ross Stores from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.29.

About Ross Stores

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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