03:35 PM EDT, 05/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We trim our 12-month target by $5 to $1,130, about 48x our FY 27 (Aug.) EPS estimate of $23.55 (up from $22.68; FY 26 raised to $20.70 from $20.57). While this 48x multiple remains well above COST's long-term average of 37x, the premium relative to the broader market is somewhat less extreme. At approximately 2.2x the market multiple, COST trades below the peak relative valuation of 2.7x reached in early 2025. COST's quarter ultimately fell short of elevated expectations, which we attribute to: 1) decelerating paid member growth, which slowed to 4.1% from the 6%-7% range a year ago; and 2) greater-than-expected reinvestment, which impacted margins. Looking ahead, we believe increased international club openings should help reaccelerate paid member growth, while the company's burgeoning retail media business could provide a meaningful long-term margin tailwind. We see a special cash dividend looming with the company's cash balance at $20B (+35% Y/Y).