Costco Wholesale’s (COST) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $1,000.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the topic of several other research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,030.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,045.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $933.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $967.60. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market cap of $409.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 22.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,027 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $109,475,000 after buying an additional 34,608 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,023 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,666,000 after acquiring an additional 6,969 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,042,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $974,803,000 after acquiring an additional 424,982 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 31.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 12,243 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,419,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and resilient demand: Costco reported $6.75 in adjusted EPS versus a $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $95.72 billion versus expectations of $94.97 billion. Net income rose 14.9% year over year, while comparable sales increased 9.4%, reflecting continued demand for essential goods amid economic uncertainty. Costco fourth-quarter earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Digital and membership engagement remain healthy: Digitally enabled comparable sales surged 19.5%, supported by broad-based gains across categories. Costco also highlighted younger members, strong renewal rates and plans to accelerate digital investment. Costco Q4 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion supports the long-term growth story: Management plans to open 33 new warehouses in fiscal 2027, while pharmacy, gasoline and international operations contributed to the latest results. Analysts including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Bernstein remain constructive, despite adjusting some price targets. Costco expansion plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Tariff refunds boosted earnings: A $184 million tariff refund contributed approximately $0.15 per share to fourth-quarter EPS. Costco said most of the money will be reinvested in lower prices for produce, meat, beverages and other merchandise, which may support customer loyalty but makes the earnings beat less reflective of recurring profitability. Costco tariff refunds
• Negative Sentiment: Membership growth is the key concern: Analysts noted that membership-fee growth has slowed significantly. Because recurring membership income is central to Costco’s valuation and future guidance, investors may require continued gains in members and renewal rates to justify the stock’s elevated earnings multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost pressures temper enthusiasm: With a price-to-earnings ratio above 46, some analysts argue that much of Costco’s execution is already priced in. Rising memory-component costs also led to a $152 million electronics-related charge, while several firms lowered price targets following the report. Costco valuation analysis

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.