Key Financial Inc Acquires 77 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $139.09 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.91.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.