Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Acquires 55,304 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 114.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 55,304 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $142.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.33. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.73.

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.