Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.53 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.82.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

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.