Costco Wholesale’s (COST) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,000.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q1 2026 earnings at $4.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.59 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.62 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $6.45 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $883.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $875.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $822.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.51 billion, a PE ratio of 54.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.