Costco Stock Hits 52-Week High

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), a membership-only big-box retailer, has been trending lately owing to robust retail sales recorded for June. This was followed by a series of upgrades from several analysts of renowned research houses. Shares closed at $407.06 on July 13.

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Costco shares hit a 52-week high of $414.35 on July 12 and have gained 24.1% over the past year. (See Costco stock charts on TipRanks)

On July 8, the company released sales figures for the five weeks ending July 4. Costco reported sales of $18.92 billion, up 16.9% year over year, while comparable sales grew 14.1% for the same period.

For the forty-four weeks ending July 4, sales grew 18.1% to $161.09 billion year-over-year, and comparable sales grew 16.4%.

Additionally, yesterday Costco announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.79 per share payable on August 13 to shareholders of record on July 30.

Analysts Weigh In

Following the June sales results, Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh assigned a Buy rating to the stock and lifted the price target to $450 (10.6% upside potential) from $425.

Parikh has a positive long-term outlook for the company. Some of the catalysts that spur his sentiment include a unique and improving consumer value proposition, leading competitive position, consistent track record of shareholder returns, strong management team, and potential for sustainable top-and bottom-line delivery despite a more competitive retail backdrop.

Parikh believes all of the above catalysts will boost Costco’s share price and performance going forward, however, he says, “Given still difficult upcoming compares, cost pressures, and positive stimulus spending, the setup has gotten even trickier.”

The Wall Street community is bullish on the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 18 Buys and 6 Holds. The average Costco price target of $420.10 implies 3.2% upside potential to current levels.