Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, a drop of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 6,360,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.5 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $15.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,056.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,086,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,100. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $971.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $925.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.77 billion, a PE ratio of 62.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.