Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $1.96 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP opened a new position in Ross Stores, buying 10,850 shares valued at about $1.96 million in the fourth quarter. Other large institutional investors also added to or initiated stakes, and institutions now own 86.86% of the company.
• Ross Stores reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 versus estimates of $1.73 and revenue of $6.01 billion, ahead of expectations. The company also raised guidance, with FY 2026 EPS projected at $7.50 to $7.74.
• The stock was trading near its 52-week high at $240.13, and analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $233.18. Ross also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, payable June 30.

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,850 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,955,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $868,360,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,523,000 after buying an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,750,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4%

ROST stock opened at $240.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.34. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.740 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.18.

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.

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