Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 12.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on COST. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $998.50.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $977.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $909.82 and a 200 day moving average of $929.46. The company has a market cap of $434.07 billion, a PE ratio of 52.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,148,060. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,315 shares of company stock worth $8,549,409. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Northern Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,176 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 33,932 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,261,000 after acquiring an additional 12,643 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 8,744 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Triton Financial Group Inc raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Triton Financial Group Inc now owns 4,267 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 918 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Membership revenue acceleration — Costco reported a 14% jump in membership fees in Q1 FY26, driven by high renewals and executive upgrades, supporting predictable, resilient cash flow. Costco’s Membership Model Continues to Deliver Predictable Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Exceptionally sticky base — Renewal rates of ~92.3% in the U.S./Canada and ~89.8% worldwide underline the durability of Costco’s membership engine and recurring profit contribution. Nine Out of Ten Costco Members Renew
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support lifted — Gordon Haskett raised its price target to $1,100, implying notable upside versus recent levels, which can attract buyers and validate upside expectations. Gordon Haskett Adjusts Price Target on Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey reaffirms outperform with $1,100 target — another bullish signal from the sell side that can support demand. Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears to contain data anomalies (zeros/NaN and a 0.0 days-to-cover). This looks like a reporting glitch rather than a material change in short exposure. (internal short-interest entries)
• Neutral Sentiment: New-store activity — a ~$37M construction project in New Braunfels signals continued network expansion (incremental revenue potential but not immediate margin driver). $37M Costco construction soars in New Braunfels
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall — Costco recalled mini beignets due to mislabeling/allergy risk across multiple states. This is reputational and operationally inconvenient but appears limited in scale. Costco recalls mini beignets after packaging mix-up
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/downgrade noise — at least one roundup (InvestorPlace) included a downgrade of Costco within blue-chip ranking updates; such headlines can create short-term selling pressure even if fundamentals remain intact. FedEx Upgraded, Costco Downgraded

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.