Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Buy (B-)" Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated its "Buy (B-)" rating for Costco Wholesale, underlining positive analyst sentiment towards the retailer.
• Costco's stock closed flat at $914.80 with a market cap of $405.70 billion and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.
• In its latest earnings report, Costco exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $5.87 and a revenue increase of 8.1% year-over-year.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock remained flat at $914.80 during trading on Wednesday. 2,362,108 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,642,431. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $952.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.37. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $405.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

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

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.

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