Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,631,393 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 466,566 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $353,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $219.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.79. The stock has a market cap of $70.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.32 and a 52 week high of $242.81.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

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.