Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Acquires 48,177 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 48,177 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 523,881 shares worth about $94.4 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ross Stores remains positive, with multiple analysts raising targets and ratings; the consensus view is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $233.18.
• Ross Stores recently reported stronger-than-expected results, posting $2.02 EPS and $6.01 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 523,881 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 48,177 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.16% of Ross Stores worth $94,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $19,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $257.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $240.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.34. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $242.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. 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 predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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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