Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 26 ratings firms, with 17 analysts assigning a buy rating.
• The company's shares opened at $943.31, with a 12-month trading range between $867.16 and $1,078.23, and a market capitalization of $418.34 billion.
• Costco reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $5.81 and marking an 8.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,061.3043.

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $943.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $956.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.87. The company has a market capitalization of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.

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