Seven Eight Capital LP Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,825 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,300,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $150.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

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.