Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for Costco Wholesale Co.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research note issued on Monday, March 13th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now forecasts that the retailer will earn $15.26 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $15.28. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $14.37 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 28.66%. The company had revenue of $55.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on COST. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $574.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.16.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.1 %

COST stock opened at $481.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $491.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.58. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $406.51 and a 52 week high of $612.27. The company has a market capitalization of $213.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.45%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total value of $733,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,934,972.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total transaction of $733,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,934,972.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total transaction of $1,259,225.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,592,861.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 87,653 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,011,000 after acquiring an additional 6,049 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 759 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. RVW Wealth LLC now owns 771 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,598 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 95,954 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.03% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.