Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ross Stores has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $233.18.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.02 versus estimates of $1.73 and revenue of $6.01 billion versus expectations of $5.64 billion; revenue rose 20.6% year over year.
• Ross Stores also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, and the stock has recently attracted significant institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 86.86% of shares.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.1765.

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,360,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,523,000 after buying an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,167,479 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $570,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,611 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $229.45 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $223.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.12. 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 company has a market cap of $73.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $237.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. 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, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

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.

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