Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $800.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.72% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $771.31 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $342.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $731.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $675.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.