KBC Group NV Has $15.52 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,655 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,236 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $235.81 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $225.00 and its 200-day moving average is $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.14 and a 52 week high of $242.81. The company has a market capitalization of $75.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.87.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.86%.

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.