New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 36,200 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $35,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $139.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.27 and a 200 day moving average of $147.79. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.