Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 5,878 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 73% compared to the average daily volume of 3,397 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $212.08. 357,642 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,705. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $225.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.27. Ross Stores has a 52-week low of $126.32 and a 52-week high of $242.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The company 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 firm’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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,951 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 35.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.