Costco Wholesale (COST) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.79 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Costco Wholesale to post $18 EPS for the current fiscal year and $19 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $917.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $880.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.15 billion, a PE ratio of 59.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $618.76 and a fifty-two week high of $997.71.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.