William Blair Has Weak Outlook for Ross Stores Q1 Earnings

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) – Research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ross Stores in a report issued on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair analyst D. Carden now anticipates that the apparel retailer will post earnings of $1.40 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.59. The consensus estimate for Ross Stores’ current full-year earnings is $6.17 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ross Stores’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.64 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.81 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.87 EPS.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ROST. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.07.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $135.96 on Thursday. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $649,318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.