National Bank of Canada FI Has $37.67 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 44.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,311 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 77,617 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $37,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $156.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,555,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,348,262. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.42. The company has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI increased 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. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.