Jefferies Reiterates Hold Rating on Costco

Jefferies reiterates its Hold rating on Costco Wholesale Corporation

as the company's shares are believe to already price in the good trends. Jefferies says, “We are forecasting an 8.0%-9.0% comp store sales gain at Costco this month. With one of the highest valuations in our group, we think shares are pricing in good trends, so we are maintaining our Hold rating. We think the core U.S. comp store sales will be up 5.0%-6.0%, with gas adding an additional 225 bps for a total reported US comp store sales gain of 7.0%-8.5%. We are forecasting a 9.0%-11.0% International comp store sales gain in local currency, with a 15-20 bps fx detriment.” COST closed at $82.23 per share on Monday.