Delta Global Management LP Takes $2.55 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,752 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,114 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,065,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,032 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 5,421 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $206.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.31 and a 200 day moving average of $174.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Ross Stores Profile

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.