Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $226.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $199.00 to $226.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $181.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $188.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $211.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after buying an additional 5,060,954 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,974,551 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,782,873,000 after buying an additional 61,168 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,268,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,310,081,000 after acquiring an additional 51,765 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,487,720,000 after acquiring an additional 180,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,077,000 after acquiring an additional 133,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ross Stores

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

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.