Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $982.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $913.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $876.82. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $603.86 and a 1 year high of $991.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.21 billion, a PE ratio of 59.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.