E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Takes $2.65 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,450 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,650,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $234.69 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.39 and a 52-week high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.03 and a 200 day moving average of $221.46.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 24.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $231.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $257.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ross Stores from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.76.

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.