Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) to Equal Weight

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $245.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.39% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued 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 an average price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $236.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.57 and a 200 day moving average of $206.97. The company has a market cap of $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 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 has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. City Holding Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.