Erste Group Bank Predicts Increased Earnings for Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 EPS estimates for Ross Stores in a research note issued on Friday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the apparel retailer will post earnings per share of $7.78 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $7.38. The consensus estimate for Ross Stores’ current full-year earnings is $7.73 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Ross Stores’ FY2028 earnings at $8.55 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $231.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.63. Ross Stores has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $237.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value 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 $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,282,000 after buying an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,542,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.1% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 104,406 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $15,910,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently 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.