Roth Capital Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Investment analysts at Roth Capital lowered their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital analyst W. Kirk now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $18.82 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $18.84. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $964.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $989.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $943.88. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.