Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.4118.

Several research firms have weighed in on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Guggenheim upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $169.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.0%

ROST stock opened at $189.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.27. The company has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.52. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $194.92.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.75% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.