Investors Purchase High Volume of Ross Stores Put Options (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 5,878 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 73% compared to the average volume of 3,397 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $212.08. 357,642 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,705. The company has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores has a 1 year low of $126.32 and a 1 year high of $242.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $225.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the 2nd 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 period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.