Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $237.41 and last traded at $233.47, with a volume of 2914235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $75.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.84.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,562,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $19,200,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.