Truist Financial Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $955.00

Key Points

• Truist Financial lowered Costco’s price target from $1,011 to $955 and maintained a “hold” rating, implying about 3.9% upside from the reported $919.21 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Costco has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $1,047.42, based on 23 Buy, 10 Hold and 1 Sell recommendation.
• Costco beat quarterly expectations with $6.75 in EPS and $95.72 billion in revenue, but the results included a one-time tariff-refund benefit. Its premium valuation, potential margin pressure from rising electronics costs and slowing membership growth remain key concerns.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Truist Financial from $1,011.00 to $955.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the retailer's stock. Truist Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 3.89% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $1,020.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Roth Capital restated a "sell" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,047.42.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $22.73 on Friday, reaching $919.21. 1,336,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,178,490. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $934.32 and a 200-day moving average of $968.18. The firm has a market cap of $407.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 20.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.0% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,027 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $109,475,000 after acquiring an additional 34,608 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,023 shares of the retailer's stock worth $19,666,000 after buying an additional 6,969 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 68.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,042,046 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $974,803,000 after buying an additional 424,982 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after buying an additional 5,749,362 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 12,243 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,419,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

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