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Costco Wholesale (COST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Costco Wholesale logo
$877.31
+4.28 (+0.49%)
(As of 11/1/2024 ET)

About Costco Wholesale Stock (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Stats

Today's Range
$867.34
$879.41
50-Day Range
$873.59
$917.08
52-Week Range
$552.01
$923.83
Volume
1.63 million shs
Average Volume
1.92 million shs
Market Capitalization
$388.71 billion
P/E Ratio
52.95
Dividend Yield
0.53%
Price Target
$894.57
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy

Company Overview

Costco Wholesale Corporation is central to the global warehouse membership club story. The company was founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman but its history dates back to 1976 because of the merger with Price Club. Costco, originally known as Costco Companies, quickly grew in its first two years and became the 1st company to go from $0 to $3 billion in revenue within the 1st 3 years. The company held its IPO in 1985.

Price Club was founded in 1976 by the Price family. It was among the very first warehouse membership clubs and targeted small merchants and businesses. It also saw quick success and went public in 1980. The Price family turned down an offer to merge with Walmart’s Sam’s Club in favor of a more suitable match-up with Costco. Coincidentally, Costco founder Jim Sinegal got his start in the retail business working for Sol Price at his original membership club, FedMart.

The new company was formed in 1993. It owned 206 stores and was called PriceCostco for a time. The Price family eventually exit the business in favor of new operations resulting in the rebranding to Costco Wholesale Corporation. The Price family's new business is called PriceSmart and operates a chain of membership clubs in the Caribbean and Central America. Price Club’s first store, opened in an old Howard Hughes airplane hangar, is still in operation and known as Costco #401.

Today, Costco is based in Issaquah, Washington and it is among the largest businesses in the world. The company operates as a member-only big-box retailer claiming more than 118 million members, it is ranked #10 on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 5th largest retailer internationally. In terms of scale, it is the largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods and rotisserie chickens. Rotisserie chickens are a long-standing tradition at Costco which pioneered their use. The chickens are sold for less than cost and used to attract business into the store.

The company operates through a network of subsidiaries that own warehouses in 11 countries, including the US and Puerto Rico. The company retails branded and private-label merchandise across verticals and categories and at “discounted” or bulk-rate prices. Product categories include grocery and frozen foods, apparel, sporting goods, electronics, auto care, appliances, housewares and even furniture. Nearly 70% of the stores are located in the US with another 13% in Canada and the remainder scattered around the globe.

In addition to retail, the company also provides many services including pharmacy, eye care, food & beverage and auto care centers. The company also operates more than 665 gas stations across its footprint and a robust eCommerce channel. Other services include delivery, travel and curbside pickup. As of the year-end calendar 2022, the company operated more than 840 stores and was on track to open new stores in the coming years. Total revenue in 2022 topped $226 billion, the company employs more than 304,000 individuals and it is a member of the S&P 500, the S&P 100 and the NASDAQ 100.

 

 

Costco Wholesale Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks
95th Percentile Overall Score

COST MarketRank™: 

Costco Wholesale scored higher than 95% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 19th out of 216 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

  • Consensus Rating

    Costco Wholesale has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 18 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

  • Amount of Analyst Coverage

    Costco Wholesale has been the subject of 20 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

  • Read more about Costco Wholesale's stock forecast and price target.
  • Earnings Growth

    Earnings for Costco Wholesale are expected to grow by 9.01% in the coming year, from $17.75 to $19.35 per share.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

    The P/E ratio of Costco Wholesale is 52.95, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 128.03.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

    The P/E ratio of Costco Wholesale is 52.95, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 120.19.

  • Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

    Costco Wholesale has a PEG Ratio of 5.41. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

  • Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

    Costco Wholesale has a P/B Ratio of 16.46. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

  • Read more about Costco Wholesale's valuation and earnings.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    1.39% of the float of Costco Wholesale has been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    Costco Wholesale has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Costco Wholesale has recently decreased by 9.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.
  • Dividend Yield

    Costco Wholesale has a dividend yield of 0.53%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

  • Dividend Growth

    Costco Wholesale has been increasing its dividend for 21 years.

  • Dividend Coverage

    The dividend payout ratio of Costco Wholesale is 28.00%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

  • Dividend Sustainability

    Based on earnings estimates, Costco Wholesale will have a dividend payout ratio of 23.98% next year. This indicates that Costco Wholesale will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

  • Read more about Costco Wholesale's dividend.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    1.39% of the float of Costco Wholesale has been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    Costco Wholesale has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Costco Wholesale has recently decreased by 9.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.
  • News Sentiment

    Costco Wholesale has a news sentiment score of 0.69. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.42 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.
  • News Coverage This Week

    MarketBeat has tracked 49 news articles for Costco Wholesale this week, compared to 48 articles on an average week.
  • Search Interest

    Only 93 people have searched for COST on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -24% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • MarketBeat Follows

    91 people have added Costco Wholesale to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 18% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

    In the past three months, Costco Wholesale insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $11,238,510.00 in company stock.

  • Percentage Held by Insiders

    Only 0.18% of the stock of Costco Wholesale is held by insiders.

  • Percentage Held by Institutions

    68.48% of the stock of Costco Wholesale is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

  • Read more about Costco Wholesale's insider trading history.
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COST Stock News Headlines

Photo of a couple in Christmas sweaters in front of a Christmas tree. Woman has credit card in hand, man has laptop on lap.
Battle of the Retailers: Who Comes Out on Top? (COST)
With this holiday season's retail bump quickly approaching, investors may wish to evaluate leading retailers like Walmart, Target, and Costco.
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Walmart is Up 56% YTD, Is it Still a Top Consumer Staples Stock? (COST)
Walmart has been one of the strongest names in the consumer staples sector this year. Can the stock continue to win for years to come?
A Peloton bike is shown on November 19, 2019, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Peloton plans to sell its deluxe stationary bike at Costco to reach holiday shoppers
Peloton plans to sell its deluxe stationary bike at Costco this holiday season as the struggling connected-exercise company seeks to broaden its customer base
Best Stock to Buy Right Now: Costco vs. Amazon
See More Headlines

COST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Costco Wholesale's stock was trading at $660.08 at the beginning of the year. Since then, COST stock has increased by 32.9% and is now trading at $877.31.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here
.

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September, 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript
.

Costco Wholesale same-store sales increased by 10% in the month of September.

Costco Wholesale subsidiaries include Innovel Solutions, Costco De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Costco Insurance Agency Inc., Costco President Taiwan Inc., Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., Costco Wholesale Japan Ltd., Costco Wholesale Korea Ltd., and others.

Costco Wholesale's top institutional investors include International Assets Investment Management LLC (1.66%), Principal Financial Group Inc. (0.29%), Everett Harris & Co. CA (0.19%) and Provident Trust Co. (0.19%). Insiders that own company stock include W Craig Jelinek, Patrick J Callans, Patrick J Callans, James C Klauer, James C Klauer, James P Murphy, Richard A Galanti, Susan L Decker, Mary Agnes Wilderotter, Daniel M Hines, Pierre Riel, Russell D Miller, Claudine Adamo, Caton Frates, Kenneth D Denman, Yoram Rubanenko, Teresa A Jones, Timothy L Rose and Roland Michael Vachris.
View institutional ownership trends
.

Shares of COST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Costco Wholesale investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO), Salesforce (CRM), Chevron (CVX), Home Depot (HD) and BlackRock (BLK).

Company Calendar

Ex-Dividend for 8/9 Dividend
7/26/2024
Dividend Payable
8/09/2024
Last Earnings
9/26/2024
Ex-Dividend for 11/15 Dividend
11/01/2024
Today
11/02/2024
Dividend Payable
11/15/2024
Next Earnings (Estimated)
12/12/2024
Fiscal Year End
8/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Industry
Variety stores
Sub-Industry
Hypermarkets & Super Centers
Current Symbol
NASDAQ:COST
CUSIP
22160K10
Employees
333,000
Year Founded
1983

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target
$905.30
High Stock Price Target
$1,065.00
Low Stock Price Target
$620.00
Potential Upside/Downside
+2.0%
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
2.68
Research Coverage
27 Analysts

Profitability

Net Income
$7.37 billion
Pretax Margin
3.83%

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$254.45 billion
Cash Flow
$21.17 per share
Book Value
$53.31 per share

Miscellaneous

Free Float
442,276,000
Market Cap
$388.71 billion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
0.80

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This page (NASDAQ:COST) was last updated on 11/2/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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