New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,571 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 36,200 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $35,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROST. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $136.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,676,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,314,120. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.79. The stock has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

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.