Barclays PLC Sells 375,542 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,285,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 375,542 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $195,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 152.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ross Stores News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, raised dividend and bigger buybacks — Ross reported $6.64B revenue and $2.00 EPS, raised the quarterly dividend ~10% and expanded buybacks by ~25%, which supports EPS accretion and shareholder returns. MarketBeat Q4 analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Strong analyst momentum — several firms upgraded or lifted targets (Citigroup to $240, Goldman to $244, Telsey upgraded, Guggenheim bullish), reinforcing upside expectations after the results. Citigroup PT raise Goldman PT raise Telsey upgrade Guggenheim note
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/long-term momentum — ROST hit a 12‑month high and has outperformed benchmarks over the past year, supporting momentum-driven flows. 12-month high report Outperformance write-up
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind — the “treasure hunt” or off‑price theme (value-seeking consumers) is lifting both Ross and TJX, suggesting favorable secular demand but not guaranteed sustained outsized growth. Treasure hunt thesis
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking / short-term consolidation risk — shares gave back a portion of the post-earnings pop and analysts/coverage notes flag possible consolidation or a pullback toward the low‑$200s if momentum cools. Price-action risk
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and forward pacing — ROST trades at a premium (P/E ~32, PEG ~3.1) and management’s commentary implies the back half could slow, so upside now depends on persistent comp strength and margin maintenance. Valuation/Outlook piece

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $211.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.51%.

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.