Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 124,287 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its Ross Stores stake by 31.3% in the first quarter, selling 124,287 shares and leaving it with 272,750 shares valued at about $59.1 million.
• Ross Stores recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 versus $1.73 estimated and revenue of $6.01 billion, up 20.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $233.18, while several firms have recently raised targets to as high as $270.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,750 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 124,287 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $59,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,448 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $238.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.87. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $226.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.37 and a 52-week high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Ross Stores Company 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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