Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $239.1176.

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 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 restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.9%

Ross Stores stock opened at $253.22 on Thursday. Ross Stores has a 12-month low of $141.91 and a 12-month high of $257.00. 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 capitalization of $81.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $230.64 and its 200 day moving average is $217.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. City Holding Co. grew its position in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.