Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $800.00 to $1,060.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.23% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.75.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $2.64 on Wednesday, hitting $979.44. 361,820 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $640.51 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $931.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $888.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.