Groupe la Francaise Makes New $18.01 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Groupe la Française acquired 83,409 Ross Stores shares worth approximately $18.01 million in the first quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.86% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $233.18; targets range from $230 to $290.
• Ross Stores exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.02 in EPS and $6.01 billion in revenue, up 20.6% year over year. The company also pays a $0.445 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.7% annually.

Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 83,409 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $18,013,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. City Holding Co. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $252.57 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $229.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.76. 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 has a market cap of $81.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.37 and a 12 month high of $255.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

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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