GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,603 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 155.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 154.5% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Ross Stores by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Ross Stores Company 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.