Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

by · The Markets Daily

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $15.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $885.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,459,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,224. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $870.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $816.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $392.63 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $881.19.

Check Out Our Latest Report on COST

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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