Hantz Financial Services Inc. buys new stakes in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in the stock of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $1,571,000. WBI Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 160.4% in the second quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 3,586 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 82.2% in the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 14,776 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 86.86% of shares are currently held by institutional investors.

Ross stores trade down 0.8%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $150.61 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. it has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.71 and a 200-day moving average of $142.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company posted earnings of $1.32 per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross store dividend announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10. This represents a dividend of $1.47 on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’ payout ratio is 24.79%.

Inside activity at Ross stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. 2.10% of shares are currently held by corporate insiders.

The Wall Street analyst weighs in

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd . Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71, based on data from MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest research report on Ross stores

Ross Stores Company Profile

(Free report)

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates discount clothing and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brands in the United States. Its stores mainly offer clothing, accessories, footwear and home fashion. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell their products in department and specialty stores for middle-income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell their products at department and discount stores for moderate income households.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds own ROST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trading for Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST – Free Report).

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