Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE Sells 70 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $150.15 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $49.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

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.