In the latest close session, Costco (COST) was up +1.93% at $982.86. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.21%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.18%.
The warehouse club operator's shares have seen an increase of 12.81% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.08% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.42%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Costco in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.5, signifying a 11.94% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $68.9 billion, reflecting a 8.12% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $20.09 per share and a revenue of $296.27 billion, representing changes of +11.67% and +7.64%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.03% upward. Costco presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Costco is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 47.99. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 29.31.
Investors should also note that COST has a PEG ratio of 5.78 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 3.27.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 24, placing it within the top 10% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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