Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $192.38 and last traded at $192.0140, with a volume of 326093 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $191.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.41.

Ross Stores Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $62.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.34 and its 200 day moving average is $155.91.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 54.2% in the second quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 30,235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 10,625 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 11,676 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 2,109 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $7,949,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,526 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $255,355,000 after acquiring an additional 30,232 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.