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

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $185.85 and last traded at $184.06, with a volume of 107559 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $184.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.44.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 48,720 shares of company stock worth $7,154,172 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $521,159,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $276,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726,324 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.