Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Invests $75.17 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 493,244 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $75,165,000. Ross Stores accounts for 1.6% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the third 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. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

ROST opened at $200.38 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $200.60. The stock has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Friday, October 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.94.

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.