Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $196.84 and last traded at $196.4290, with a volume of 250644 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $192.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $188.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, December 1st. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Ross Stores Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.21. The company has a market capitalization of $63.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $7,949,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $19,904,000 after purchasing an additional 7,338 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 22,964 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 84.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. 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.