Costco delivers strong quarter, eyes higher membership fees
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) impressed again with comparable sales growth of 11.1% in Q4 excluding the impact of fuel and currency fluctuations to easily beat the consensus mark estimate of 8.74%.
Wells Fargo reiterated an Overweight rating on Costco (COST) following the report.
Analyst Edward Kelly: "While sales were generally known, it's notable that February comps accelerated when compared to 2019 levels as product cost inflation continued to ramp to new highs. Membership also continued to gain momentum... Costs were somewhat better than we expected. Overall, the company delivered another good quarter, and we remain Overweight. The stock is expensive, but we see no reason for that to change given that it's one of the highest quality companies in consumer."
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Telsey Advisory Group raised its price target on Costco (COST) to $615.
During the Costco (COST) earnings call, Richard Galanti said the company is considering a membership fee price increase, although no final decision has been made. The retailer last raised fees in 2017.
Shares of Costco (COST) fell 2.14% in premarket trading.