Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Costco Wholesale Co. Boosted by Analyst (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 27th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now anticipates that the retailer will earn $3.66 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.60. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2024 earnings at $4.90 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $15.96 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.92 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.03 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.31 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $17.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.02 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.23 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $18.31 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $732.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $723.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $641.98. The stock has a market cap of $324.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,398,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 352,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $232,982,000 after buying an additional 98,184 shares during the period. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $4,225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.