Costco Wholesale’s (COST) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $1,125.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.68% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,091.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,160.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,046.27.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $924.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,410,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,270. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $933.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $967.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The company had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 22.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 48.3% during the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,871,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.0% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,027 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $109,475,000 after acquiring an additional 34,608 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 49.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,023 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,666,000 after purchasing an additional 6,969 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 68.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,042,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $974,803,000 after purchasing an additional 424,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $22,359,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue increased approximately 11% year over year to $95.72 billion, while earnings per share of $6.75 exceeded the $6.54 consensus estimate. Comparable sales rose 9.4%, supported by higher customer traffic and larger average transactions. Costco’s Sales Momentum Builds as Q4 Traffic and Ticket Rise
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 10.7%, highlighting strong domestic demand and members’ willingness to continue spending despite broader economic uncertainty. Bakery and meat were among the strongest fresh-food categories, increasing Costco’s competitive pressure on traditional grocery retailers. Costco’s US Comp Sales Lead as Domestic Momentum Stays Strong
• Positive Sentiment: Membership income rose about 11% to $5.907 billion, and executive-membership penetration reached a record level. The recurring fee stream supports profitability and customer loyalty, while digitally enabled sales grew more than 20% for the fiscal year and site and app traffic increased substantially. Costco’s Strong Q4 and Membership Gains Could Be A Game Changer
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided after the earnings beat. William Blair maintained a Buy rating, while Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $1,230 target; RBC retained Sector Perform with a $1,000 target. Some firms lowered targets, reflecting caution about Costco’s valuation rather than deterioration in its business. Wall Street Remains Split After Costco’s Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Daiwa cut its price target to $950 from $975 and Deutsche Bank reduced its target to $1,079 from $1,091. At roughly 44 times earnings, COST’s elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if growth slows or margins disappoint. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Costco

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.