Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $237.41 and last traded at $233.47, with a volume of 2914235 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $234.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $220.64 and a 200 day moving average of $198.84.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company's 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. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Somerset Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during 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. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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