Tigress Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective raised by Tigress Financial from $1,065.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Tigress Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.81% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,091.00 to $1,079.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,087.40.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $978.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,988,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,193,811. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $931.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $963.13. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The stock has a market cap of $433.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 22.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,244.62. This trade represents a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total value of $1,054,031.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,701.74. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased 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 last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive retail rotation: Hotter-than-expected inflation data has encouraged investors to favor retailers selling everyday necessities. Costco benefited alongside Walmart and Target as a relatively defensive consumer stock. Inflation Sends Money Into Defensive Retailers
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating momentum: Costco’s September net sales rose 13% year over year to $30.02 billion, while digitally enabled sales increased 19%. The results reinforce the appeal of its membership model, value pricing and growing e-commerce business. Costco September Sales and Digital Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion opportunity: Costco is planning a roughly 166,000-square-foot warehouse at a former Oakland Army base, potentially creating a significant new market location. The company also received early approval for a store in Florida. Costco Oakland Warehouse Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and earnings outlook: Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, payable November 13. An analyst also modestly raised the FY2027 EPS estimate, supporting the view that earnings growth can continue. Costco Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage of new seasonal products, younger members and Costco’s influence on nearby home values highlights strong brand engagement, but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Costco Younger Member Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and insider selling: COST trades at a demanding earnings multiple, increasing downside risk if growth slows. EVP William Richard Wilcox also sold 1,100 shares worth approximately $1.05 million, reducing his holdings by 26.2%, although the transaction alone does not establish a change in company fundamentals. Costco Executive Share Sale

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.