Roth Capital Issues Pessimistic Forecast for COST Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities researchers at Roth Capital cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report released on Friday, December 13th. Roth Capital analyst W. Kirk now forecasts that the retailer will earn $4.28 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.32. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $17.83 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

COST has been the subject of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $992.87 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $640.51 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $929.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $439.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.30, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

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.