Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $950.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $1,000.00 to $950.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 3.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,048.26.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $920.92 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $934.32 and its 200 day moving average is $968.18. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $408.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.10, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.86.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,488,203,000 after buying an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,195,415,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,328,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,732,836,000 after purchasing an additional 143,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported fourth-quarter EPS of $6.75 versus the $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $95.72 billion versus $94.97 billion expected. Net income rose 14.9% to approximately $3 billion. Costco earnings beat expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand remained healthy, with fourth-quarter comparable sales increasing 9.4% and digitally enabled comparable sales jumping 19.5%. Strong traffic, pharmacy sales and e-commerce momentum support the company’s growth outlook. Costco beats quarterly sales estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish. Mizuho lowered its target to $1,065 while retaining an Outperform rating, and Bernstein set a $1,143 target with the same rating. UBS also maintained a $1,275 Buy target, implying substantial upside from the reference price.
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat included a roughly $0.15-per-share benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, meaning some of the upside was non-recurring. Costco’s reported $6.75 EPS therefore may overstate the quarter’s sustainable earnings power. Costco posts fourth-quarter net income rise
• Negative Sentiment: Costco’s premium valuation remains a major obstacle: shares trade at roughly 45 times earnings despite a market capitalization near $398 billion. Analysts warn that slowing membership growth and the eventual fading benefit of the 2024 membership-fee increase could limit further multiple expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged rising electronics costs tied to memory inflation, creating potential margin pressure. This, combined with the one-time tariff benefit and elevated valuation, helps explain why the stock’s earnings reaction has been weaker than the headline results might suggest. Costco flags rising electronics costs

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally competitive prices. Its product range includes groceries, fresh foods, apparel, appliances, electronics, furniture, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal goods, along with private-label products sold under the Kirkland Signature brand.

The company also provides a variety of ancillary services, including gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical centers, hearing-aid centers, food courts, tire centers, and travel services.