Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,453 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,932 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $145.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.97. The firm has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given 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 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

About Ross Stores

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.