Dundas Partners LLP Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Dundas Partners LLP trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 270,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,836 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up about 2.9% of Dundas Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $41,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,411,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,645,000 after acquiring an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ross Stores by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $19,904,000 after acquiring an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $211.75 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $216.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores News Summary

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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

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.