Costco Wholesale (COST) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.79 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Costco Wholesale to post $18 EPS for the current fiscal year and $19 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $987.86 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $618.76 and a 52 week high of $997.71. The firm has a market cap of $437.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $917.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $880.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $928.50.

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.