Ieq Capital LLC Buys 24,201 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 106.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 46,990 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,201 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $139.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.