Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $996.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $968.36 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $908.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $929.27. The company has a market capitalization of $429.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,240 shares in the company, valued at $7,550,476.80. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,315 shares of company stock valued at $8,549,409. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the second quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 657 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,814,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

More Costco Wholesale News

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence and upside vs. the current level. Telsey reaffirmation and $1,100 PT
• Positive Sentiment: New store investment: a roughly $37M Costco build in New Braunfels is progressing ahead of an April opening — expansion that supports future sales and membership growth. $37M New Braunfels construction
• Positive Sentiment: Operations/UX improvements: recent changes to speed up shopping for members can raise throughput and sales per visit. Shopping faster and easier for members
• Positive Sentiment: Media bullishness: commentators including Jim Cramer have highlighted Costco’s recent momentum, which can lift sentiment and buying interest. Jim Cramer says ‘Been a Good Bounce’
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry comparisons and stock-picking pieces (e.g., Motley Fool) examine Costco vs. Walmart — useful context but not an immediate price driver. Costco vs. Walmart analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), so there’s no clear indication of a large short-squeeze or meaningful short pressure from the published figure.
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall: Costco recalled mini beignets across multiple states for mislabeling that creates an allergy risk — a reputational and potential liability headwind, though likely small relative to company scale. Costco recalls mini beignets after packaging mix-up
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: an InvestorPlace update included a downgrade of Costco in its blue-chip rankings, which can create short-term selling pressure among model/benchmark investors. FedEx Upgraded, Costco Downgraded

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.