Empowered Funds LLC Takes $23.45 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 110,173 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $23,450,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.7%

ROST opened at $229.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $143.39 and a one year high of $257.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $234.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $290.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.76.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.