Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,536 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 12,391 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Junto Capital Management LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 802,387 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,377,000 after purchasing an additional 203,692 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 114.0% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 103,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $15,702,000 after buying an additional 55,304 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $284,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $904,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 19,031 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 4.9%

ROST opened at $149.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $49.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.24 and a 200-day moving average of $142.35.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned 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 $161.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.