Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at Oppenheimer increased their FY2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Thursday, December 12th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Oppenheimer analyst R. Parikh now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $8.53 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.50. Oppenheimer has a “Market Perform” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s FY2021 earnings at $9.10 EPS.
Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on COST. Nomura restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $330.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.00.
Shares of COST stock traded up $3.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $294.69. 2,491,271 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,215,713. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $205.75 and a fifty-two week high of $307.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $128.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.89.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The retailer reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.02. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 24.22% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business had revenue of $37.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Massey Quick Simon & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cerebellum GP LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 164.3% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 111 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.86% of the company’s stock.
In other news, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.99, for a total transaction of $587,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 59,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,545,029.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paul G. Moulton sold 5,976 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.06, for a total value of $1,781,206.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,733,140.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,780 shares of company stock worth $11,620,272 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates membership warehouses. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company provides dry and packaged foods, and groceries; snack foods, candies, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, and garden and patio products; meat, bakery, deli, and produces; and apparel and small appliances.
