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

Key Points

• Ross Stores hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $226.98 (last at $227.10), and analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a MarketBeat average of "Moderate Buy" (16 Buys, 5 Holds) despite an average target price of $208.29.
• The company reported strong quarterly results — EPS $2.00 vs. $1.90 expected and revenue $6.64B (up 12.2% year-over-year) — supporting its recent share strength and high returns on equity (36.7%).
• Ross raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, ~0.8% yield), while insiders sold shares recently even as large institutional investors (e.g., Norges Bank, Marshall Wace, Bank of America) increased holdings.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $226.98 and last traded at $227.0960, with a volume of 695261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.6%

The stock has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $209.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.55.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 26.93%.

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 value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $868,360,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $276,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 56.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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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