Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ROST. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $232.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.35. The stock has a market capitalization 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 has a 12 month low of $124.49 and a 12 month high of $242.81. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. City Holding Co. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Company 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.