Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,035.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 14.48% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $944.83. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.