Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 6,269 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,971,964 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,269 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of Ross Stores worth $298,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.8 %

ROST traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $136.61. 2,676,986 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,314,120. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

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

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.