Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $178.09 and last traded at $177.69, with a volume of 2193791 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $176.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $57.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $521,159,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $276,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,657,008 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.