Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.02% from the company’s previous close.

COST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.45.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $12.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $953.10. 738,528 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,145,294. The company has a market capitalization of $422.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.91, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,096.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,003.00 and its 200-day moving average is $968.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same period last year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 8,502 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,416,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.