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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $840.00 to $1,040.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 5.12% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $989.35 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $630.30 and a 52 week high of $1,007.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.35 billion, a PE ratio of 59.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $926.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $884.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.