Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.4118.

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Guggenheim upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 251.7% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $191.44 on Friday. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $192.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $61.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.71.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.75% and a net margin of 9.47%.The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.