Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 452,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,972 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $69,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $206.28 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $216.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.51%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Profile

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.