Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

ROST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ROST opened at $230.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $223.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores has a 1-year low of $124.49 and a 1-year high of $237.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,911,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,506,099,000 after buying an additional 99,975 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,487,720,000 after buying an additional 180,182 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $979,384,000 after buying an additional 79,519 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,360,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $605,704,000 after buying an additional 426,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ross Stores

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased several EPS forecasts for Ross Stores, signaling improved profit expectations across 2027-2029. Buy 5 Stocks With High ROE as Markets Swing on War Skirmishes
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is being highlighted as a high-ROE, cash-generating retailer, which can attract investors looking for quality and stability during market volatility. Buy 5 Stocks With High ROE as Markets Swing on War Skirmishes
• Positive Sentiment: Ross Stores recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS and revenue above estimates, which reinforces confidence in its operating momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles question how the investment narrative is evolving and compare Ross Stores with peers like Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, but these pieces are more commentary than new company-specific catalysts. How The Ross Stores (ROST) Investment Narrative Is Evolving Without New Analyst Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also notes Ross Stores is outperforming the consumer discretionary sector, but this mainly reflects relative strength already supported by analyst optimism. Ross Stores Stock: Is ROST Outperforming the Consumer Discretionary Sector?

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.