Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 2,623 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 455,451 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,623 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores accounts for 1.3% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.14% of Ross Stores worth $82,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Somerset Trust Co increased its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $234.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $225.59 and its 200-day moving average is $205.37. 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 $124.49 and a 52 week high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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 predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Ross Stores 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.