Steven Zaccone, an analyst from Citi, maintained the Hold rating on Costco. The associated price target remains the same with $990.00.
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Steven Zaccone has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors related to Costco’s recent sales performance and market conditions. November’s same-store sales, excluding gas and foreign exchange impacts, showed a slight deceleration compared to October, although the overall performance remained solid with a notable increase in both ticket and traffic. The management highlighted some weakness in early November due to the government shutdown, which affected certain markets and customers.
Additionally, the inflation in food categories remained consistent with previous months, and non-food categories continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace compared to earlier months. Ancillary businesses, such as the pharmacy, showed recent strength, contributing positively to the overall performance. Despite these solid metrics, the tougher comparisons in the coming months and the slight deceleration in sales growth have led Zaccone to maintain a neutral stance, reflected in the Hold rating.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 61 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of COST in relation to earlier this year.