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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Barclays from $850.00 to $940.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.99% from the stock’s current price.

COST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $438.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $630.30 and a 1 year high of $1,007.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $926.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $885.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.