Dublin, California-based Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) is an operator of home fashion and off-price retail apparel stores. With a market cap of $47 billion, Ross Stores offers apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashion items through its outlets in the United States.

The retail giant has slightly underperformed the broader market over the past year. ROST stock has gained nearly 8% over the past 52 weeks and dropped 5.2% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 9.2% gains over the past year and 3.7% dip in 2025.

Narrowing the focus, Ross Stores has also underperformed the industry-focused VanEck Retail ETF’s (RTH) 14.3% surge over the past year and 2.7% uptick on a YTD basis.

Ross Stores’ stock rose nearly 2% in the trading session after the release of its mixed Q4 results on Mar. 4. The company reported a notable 3% year-over-year growth in comps, however the year-ago quarter consisted of 14 weeks, one more compared to the recent quarter, this led to a 1.8% year-over-year decline in overall topline to $5.9 billion, which missed the Street’s expectations by a small margin. Meanwhile, the company also observed a 3.8% decline in net earnings to $586.8 million, but its EPS of $1.79 surpassed the consensus estimates by a notable 8.5%.

Although the company benefited from the holiday selling period in Q4, its sales have begun softening since the start of the calendar year 2025 due to unseasonable weather and a volatile macro environment. Because of this, Ross Stores expects its comps for Q1 2025 to remain flat or decrease up to 3%. However, the sales may improve in the quarters following Q1.

For the current fiscal year, ending in January 2026, analysts expect ROST to deliver a 1.6% year-over-year growth in earnings to $6.42 per share. On a more positive note, the company has a solid earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.

The stock holds a consensus “Strong Buy” rating overall. Of the 21 analysts covering the stock, opinions include 16 “Strong Buys” and five “Holds.”

This configuration is notably more bullish than two months ago, when only 14 analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations.

On Apr. 8, Wells Fargo (WFC) analyst Ike Boruchow upgraded ROST stock to “Overweight,” and raised the price target from $140 to $150.

ROST’s mean price target of $160.05 represents an 11.6% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $180 suggests a 25.5% upside potential.