Jefferies Financial Group Weighs in on Costco Wholesale Co.’s Q3 2023 Earnings (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group boosted their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Friday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group analyst C. Tarlowe now expects that the retailer will earn $3.47 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.45. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $14.33 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s FY2023 earnings at $14.65 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $3.30 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $3.65 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.88 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $16.10 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Tigress Financial reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $678.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $538.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $555.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.75.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $475.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $488.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.89. The stock has a market cap of $210.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $406.51 and a 1-year high of $612.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $55.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.61 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 29.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.92 EPS.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.45%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,592,861.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 952 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.00, for a total value of $459,816.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,138,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 $20,592,861.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 53,375.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,829,924 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,286,000 after buying an additional 3,822,762 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.7% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,345,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,052,432,000 after buying an additional 1,070,128 shares in the last quarter. 66.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.