Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $800.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.39% from the stock’s previous close. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q3 2024 earnings at $3.71 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $731.31 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $730.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $655.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $324.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,182 shares of company stock valued at $9,809,558 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% in the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.