Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Sets New 1-Year 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.01.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during 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 during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. City Holding Co. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.