Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stake Raised by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 135.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,057 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,436 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.5% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $573,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,159 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $212.93 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80. The company has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Key Ross Stores News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ross accelerated its store rollout — 17 new U.S. locations opened in Feb–Mar and management now plans roughly 110 new locations in 2026 (about 5% unit growth), signaling a clear growth pipeline that supports revenue and footprint expansion. ROSS CONTINUES EXPANSION WITH THE OPENING OF 17 STORES
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and model scores are turning bullish — Zacks upgraded ROST to a Buy and highlighted momentum and growth style scores, which can attract buying from both quant models and retail/institutional investors. All You Need to Know About Ross Stores (ROST) Rating Upgrade to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwinds for discount retailers: coverage notes consumers tightening budgets and ETFs/strategies that favor value-oriented retailers include Ross, which benefits from both share gains and ETF flows. Positive media pieces and a recent strong earnings beat add to the momentum case. 3 ETFs That Could Benefit as Consumers Tighten Their Budgets
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary asks whether the strong recent rally leaves less upside (valuation/late-cycle momentum debate), prompting discussions on whether it’s “too late” to buy after the run — a reminder valuation risk can limit further near-term gains. Is It Too Late To Consider Ross Stores (ROST) After Its Strong Share Price Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/strategy risk flagged — a Yahoo report says the CEO is eyeing a change that could push some shoppers away; if the initiative changes Ross’s value proposition or store experience, it could hurt traffic and margins. This introduces execution and customer-retention risk that investors should watch. Ross Stores CEO eyes a change that risks pushing shoppers away

Ross Stores 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.