Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,951 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,608,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $5,938,711,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,911,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,506,099,000 after purchasing an additional 99,975 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $979,384,000 after purchasing an additional 79,519 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,360,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ross Stores

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Ross reported diluted EPS of $2.66 versus the approximately $1.95 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 13.3% year over year to $6.26 billion, ahead of the $6.16 billion forecast. Comparable-store sales increased 10%, supported by stronger customer traffic, improved merchandising and higher margins. Ross Stores Q2 Earnings Top Estimates on Strong Sales Growth Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Higher outlook signals continued momentum: Management raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $8.61-$8.77, well above the prior outlook and the roughly $7.31 analyst consensus. Third- and fourth-quarter EPS guidance also came in above expectations. The company cited resilient demand for discounted apparel and accessories and raised its fiscal-year store-opening plan to 115 locations. Ross Stores raises annual profit forecast again on discounted apparel demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: JPMorgan increased its target to $272 and maintained an Overweight rating, while Robert W. Baird raised its target to $270 and kept an Outperform rating. These revisions reinforce expectations that Ross is gaining market share from rivals. Analysts Boost Forecasts on Ross Stores
• Neutral Sentiment: Approximately $253 million of tariff refunds benefited second-quarter operating income, creating a potential comparison headwind when assessing underlying profitability. Ross Stores Q2 Sales Rise 13% as Diluted EPS Reaches $2.66
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG analyst Robert Drbul reiterated a Hold rating, indicating that strong execution may already be reflected in ROST’s premium valuation. Recent insider activity also showed sales but no purchases, a modest sentiment caution. Analyst Reiterates Hold on Ross Stores

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.76.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $239.04 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.39 and a 1 year high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $76.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 40.28%. 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 company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.