Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.83% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $909.26 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $987.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.60. The firm has a market cap of $403.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.