Costco Wholesale Co. Expected to Earn FY2023 Earnings of $14.22 Per Share (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson decreased their FY2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Monday, March 13th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings of $14.22 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $14.25. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $14.37 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 2.58%. The firm had revenue of $55.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

COST has been the topic of several other reports. Tigress Financial dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $678.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $565.00 to $545.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $490.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.16.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $485.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $406.51 and a 52-week high of $612.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $492.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.53.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.45%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total value of $1,259,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,861.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total transaction of $733,425.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,934,972.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total value of $1,259,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,861.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,068 shares of company stock worth $2,992,156 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. CNB Bank increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 484 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,608 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 563 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.03% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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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.