Jefferies Financial Group Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has reaffirmed a "Buy" rating for Costco Wholesale, highlighting strong analyst support with nineteen analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• Costco's stock recently traded at $942.07, having a 52-week high of $1,078.23, reflecting its significant market capitalization of $417.79 billion.
• The retailer reported earnings of $5.87 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, with quarterly revenue reaching $86.16 billion, up 8.1% from the previous year.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $27.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $942.07. The stock had a trading volume of 967,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,240,490. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $952.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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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