DA Davidson Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for COST

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report issued on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $3.52 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.51. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $880.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $17.75 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $932.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $894.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $854.01. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $572.24 and a 1 year high of $962.00. The company has a market capitalization of $413.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 19.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 105,621 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $93,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,836 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 760 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,573 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,827,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,735,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Draper Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the third quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock valued at $10,806,570. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.