Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Earns "Sector Perform" Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $1,000.00 price objective on the retailer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price suggests a potential upside of 8.91% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. HSBC upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,047.42.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ COST traded up $21.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $918.22. 1,932,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,183,872. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $407.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $934.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $968.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 20.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 3,194 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,754,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 874 shares of the retailer's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 551 shares of the retailer's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,098 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported fourth-quarter EPS of $6.75 versus the $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $95.72 billion versus $94.97 billion expected. Net income rose 14.9% to approximately $3 billion. Costco earnings beat expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand remained healthy, with fourth-quarter comparable sales increasing 9.4% and digitally enabled comparable sales jumping 19.5%. Strong traffic, pharmacy sales and e-commerce momentum support the company’s growth outlook. Costco beats quarterly sales estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish. Mizuho lowered its target to $1,065 while retaining an Outperform rating, and Bernstein set a $1,143 target with the same rating. UBS also maintained a $1,275 Buy target, implying substantial upside from the reference price.
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat included a roughly $0.15-per-share benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, meaning some of the upside was non-recurring. Costco’s reported $6.75 EPS therefore may overstate the quarter’s sustainable earnings power. Costco posts fourth-quarter net income rise
• Negative Sentiment: Costco’s premium valuation remains a major obstacle: shares trade at roughly 45 times earnings despite a market capitalization near $398 billion. Analysts warn that slowing membership growth and the eventual fading benefit of the 2024 membership-fee increase could limit further multiple expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged rising electronics costs tied to memory inflation, creating potential margin pressure. This, combined with the one-time tariff benefit and elevated valuation, helps explain why the stock’s earnings reaction has been weaker than the headline results might suggest. Costco flags rising electronics costs

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally competitive prices. Its product range includes groceries, fresh foods, apparel, appliances, electronics, furniture, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal goods, along with private-label products sold under the Kirkland Signature brand.

The company also provides a variety of ancillary services, including gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical centers, hearing-aid centers, food courts, tire centers, and travel services.