FY2024 Earnings Estimate for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Issued By William Blair

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lowered their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, June 6th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $15.74 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $15.95. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on COST. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $750.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $845.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $512.50 and a 1 year high of $850.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $760.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $714.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $32,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.