Black Diamond Financial LLC Buys 393 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Black Diamond Financial LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,813 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,822 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.8 %

ROST stock opened at $136.61 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.93 and its 200-day moving average is $147.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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.