ING Groep NV Acquires 68,089 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 125.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,505 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 68,089 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Guggenheim raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $192.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.21. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $194.92. The company has a market cap of $62.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.31%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.