Freedom Broker Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,010.00

28 Sep 2026, 05:48 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) had its price target lowered by Freedom Broker from $1,030.00 to $1,010.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,091.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,045.67.

View Our Latest Report on COST

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $922.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $409.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $933.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $967.60.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The company had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 22.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $22,359,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,195,415,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,328,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,732,836,000 after buying an additional 143,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and resilient demand: Costco reported $6.75 in adjusted EPS versus a $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $95.72 billion versus expectations of $94.97 billion. Net income rose 14.9% year over year, while comparable sales increased 9.4%, reflecting continued demand for essential goods amid economic uncertainty. Costco fourth-quarter earnings
Positive Sentiment: Digital and membership engagement remain healthy: Digitally enabled comparable sales surged 19.5%, supported by broad-based gains across categories. Costco also highlighted younger members, strong renewal rates and plans to accelerate digital investment. Costco Q4 earnings call highlights
Positive Sentiment: Expansion supports the long-term growth story: Management plans to open 33 new warehouses in fiscal 2027, while pharmacy, gasoline and international operations contributed to the latest results. Analysts including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Bernstein remain constructive, despite adjusting some price targets. Costco expansion plans
Neutral Sentiment: Tariff refunds boosted earnings: A $184 million tariff refund contributed approximately $0.15 per share to fourth-quarter EPS. Costco said most of the money will be reinvested in lower prices for produce, meat, beverages and other merchandise, which may support customer loyalty but makes the earnings beat less reflective of recurring profitability. Costco tariff refunds
Negative Sentiment: Membership growth is the key concern: Analysts noted that membership-fee growth has slowed significantly. Because recurring membership income is central to Costco’s valuation and future guidance, investors may require continued gains in members and renewal rates to justify the stock’s elevated earnings multiple.
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost pressures temper enthusiasm: With a price-to-earnings ratio above 46, some analysts argue that much of Costco’s execution is already priced in. Rising memory-component costs also led to a $152 million electronics-related charge, while several firms lowered price targets following the report. Costco valuation analysis

About Costco Wholesale

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Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally competitive prices. Its product range includes groceries, fresh foods, apparel, appliances, electronics, furniture, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal goods, along with private-label products sold under the Kirkland Signature brand.