Q3 2023 EPS Estimates for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Boosted by Analyst

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at Oppenheimer lifted their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report released on Friday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer analyst R. Parikh now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings per share of $3.19 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.08. Oppenheimer has a “Outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $14.33 per share. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2023 earnings at $4.41 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $14.00 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $14.80 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on COST. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $470.00 to $478.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Tigress Financial reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $678.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $530.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.75.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.1 %

COST opened at $475.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.89 billion, a PE 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $488.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $495.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.10. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.92 EPS.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 952 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.00, for a total value of $459,816.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,920 shares in the company, valued at $9,138,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,861.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.00, for a total transaction of $459,816.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,920 shares in the company, valued at $9,138,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,050.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 69 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newfound Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 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.