Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for COST Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• Analysts from Telsey Advisory Group raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimate for Costco to $4.30, slightly above the previous estimate of $4.29, with an "Outperform" rating and a price target of $1,100.00.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and generated revenue of $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now anticipates that the retailer will earn $4.30 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.29. Telsey Advisory Group has a "Outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's Q2 2026 earnings at $4.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.84 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $20.12 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.73 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.01 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.39 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.00 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $22.14 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on COST. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.95 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $955.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.63. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,747,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 880 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 193 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NWF Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,882 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,663,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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