Costco (COST) ended the latest trading session at $872.35, up 0.2% from the previous day’s close. The stock lagged the S&P 500, which posted a daily gain of 0.97%. The Dow posted a 0.58% gain, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.39%.

Prior to today’s trading, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 3.87% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector’s loss of 2.12% and the S&P 500’s loss of 1.85% in that time.

Analysts and investors will be keeping a close eye on Costco’s performance on the upcoming earnings release. The company’s earnings report is scheduled to be released on September 26, 2024. The company’s upcoming earnings per share are estimated at $5.02, representing an increase of 3.29% from the year-ago quarter. At the same time, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $80.07 billion, representing an increase of 1.44% from the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, analysts expect earnings of $16.27 per share and revenue of $254.55 billion, according to Zacks Consensus Estimates. These figures would represent a year-on-year change of +10.76% and +5.06%, respectively.

Investors should also pay attention to any recent changes in analyst estimates for Costco. Such recent changes usually indicate a changing landscape in near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions to estimates express analysts’ positive view of the company’s business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate changes are directly related to stock moves within the team. To capitalize on this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a remarkable track record backed by third-party audits. Stocks ranked #1 have delivered an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% higher. Currently, Costco has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Costco currently has a P/E ratio of 53.51, which represents a premium to the industry average P/E of 21.56.

Also, we should mention that COST has a PEG ratio of 5.73. This popular metric is similar to the widely known P/E ratio, with the difference that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. The Retail – Discount Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.43 as of yesterday’s close.

The story continues

The Retail – Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail and Wholesale Trade sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 155, putting it in the bottom 39% of all 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% of industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don’t forget to use Zacks.com to keep an eye on all of these and other stock-moving metrics in the coming trading sessions.

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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report

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