Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $912.90 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $922.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $958.88. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $404.58 billion, a PE ratio of 50.13, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,479,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,640,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 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.