Nexus Investment Management ULC Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nexus Investment Management ULC trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 8,370 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up approximately 3.6% of Nexus Investment Management ULC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Nexus Investment Management ULC owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $36,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 251.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $39,152,000 after buying an additional 186,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $7,454,000 after buying an additional 16,248 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $149.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,011,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,334. The company has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 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 price of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.80. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.