MidFirst Bank Acquires New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,253 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $19,200,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ROST. Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $232.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $226.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $242.81. The company has a market cap of $74.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. Ross Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.740 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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.