Costco (COST) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

Costco (COST) closed the most recent trading day at $362.35, moving -1.25% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.38% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.22%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.12%.

Heading into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had lost 0.67% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.45% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.12% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from COST as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.37, up 12.86% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $43.53 billion, up 11.41% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.95 per share and revenue of $184.12 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.43% and +10.41%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for COST should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.15% higher within the past month. COST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, COST is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 36.89. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 22.42, which means COST is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that COST currently has a PEG ratio of 4.23. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Discount Stores industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.64 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 30, putting it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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