12,023 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Purchased by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,023 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,559,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.76.

Key Stories Impacting Ross Stores

Here are the key news stories impacting Ross Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat supports upside: Ross Stores substantially exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported double-digit revenue growth, reinforcing investor confidence in its off-price retail model. Ross Stores Trounces Earnings, Set To Retake Buy Point
• Positive Sentiment: Higher price targets: JPMorgan raised its price target to $272, while Robert W. Baird forecast strong potential appreciation. These actions suggest some analysts see additional upside following the earnings performance. JPMorgan Raises Ross Stores Price Target Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation
• Positive Sentiment: Technical setup improves: A market forecast indicates that recent support has held across multiple timeframes, potentially allowing ROST to break above $245 and pursue higher technical targets. Ross Stores Price Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains constructive: Ross Stores carries an average “Moderate Buy” recommendation, indicating generally favorable sentiment but not unanimous conviction. Ross Stores Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS maintained a Hold rating, providing a counterpoint to the more bullish price-target revisions. UBS Maintains Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains focused on retail momentum and ROST’s outperformance versus TJX, although commentary from Jim Cramer is not a fundamental earnings catalyst. Jim Cramer Discusses Ross Stores and TJX

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $241.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $257.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.44. The firm has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

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.