FY2025 EPS Forecast for Costco Wholesale Boosted by Analyst

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale's FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) forecast has been increased from $17.96 to $18.02 by Zacks Research, aligning closely with the consensus estimate of $18.03.
• The company currently holds a market cap of $421.82 billion and has a P/E ratio of 53.95, reflecting strong investor interest.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders with a 0.5% dividend yield.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Friday, September 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $18.02 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $17.96. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's Q4 2026 earnings at $6.58 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $20.11 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.16 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.94 EPS.

COST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $951.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $957.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.32. The firm has a market cap of $421.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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