Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 253.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,657 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 272,097 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.12% of Ross Stores worth $57,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

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

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7%

ROST opened at $206.28 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $216.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Ross Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $220.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

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.