Costco (COST) Stock Moves -0.27%: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Costco (COST) closed at $229.06, marking a -0.27% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.43% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.5%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.26%.
Coming into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had lost 1.82% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 9.86%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.68%.
COST will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be December 13, 2018. On that day, COST is projected to report earnings of $1.60 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 17.65%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.24 billion, up 7.66% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.70 per share and revenue of $151.89 billion, which would represent changes of +12.74% and +7.28%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for COST. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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.
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 moved 0.29% lower. COST currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note COST's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 29.83. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 21.88, so we one might conclude that COST is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that COST has a PEG ratio of 2.93 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. COST's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.67 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 22, putting it in the top 9% 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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