Roth Capital Lowers Earnings Estimates for Costco Wholesale

Key Points

• Roth Capital has reduced its Q1 2026 earnings per share estimate for Costco to $4.24, down from $4.52, and currently maintains a "Neutral" rating on the stock.
• Several firms have adjusted their price targets for Costco, with Truist lowering it from $1,042 to $1,033, while Oppenheimer set a new target of $1,130.
• Costco recently reported quarterly earnings of $5.87 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $5.81, along with a revenue increase of 8.1% year-over-year.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Research analysts at Roth Capital dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital analyst W. Kirk now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $4.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.52. Roth Capital currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $907.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's Q2 2026 earnings at $4.35 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.72 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.37 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $19.67 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on COST. Truist Financial cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.9%

COST stock opened at $915.95 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $955.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $406.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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