Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $256.45 and last traded at $256.3910, with a volume of 119413 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $251.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $229.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.17. The firm has a market cap of $81.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.