Costco Wholesale Co. Forecasted to Post FY2025 Earnings of $16.70 Per Share (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report released on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $16.70 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $16.60. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.84 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $731.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.34 billion, a PE ratio of 47.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $730.68 and its 200 day moving average is $656.72. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares in the company, valued at $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,182 shares of company stock worth $9,809,558 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.