Vident Advisory LLC Acquires 3,062 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 47.4%, acquiring an additional 3,062 shares, bringing its total to 9,528 shares valued at approximately $1.22 million.
• Ross Stores reported a Q2 EPS of $1.56, beating analysts' estimates by $0.02, with revenues of $5.53 billion, reflecting a 4.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, with the payout scheduled for September 30th.

Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 47.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,528 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after acquiring an additional 377,554 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,476,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,438,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,281,008. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. 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 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $140.36 and its 200-day moving average is $137.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Ross Stores 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.