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S&P 500   5,026.61
DOW   38,671.69
QQQ   437.05
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The perfect AI stock under $10 (Ad)
Stock market today: World shares mostly higher after S&P 500 tops 5,000
Biden's campaign joins TikTok, even as administration warns of national security concerns with app
S&P 500   5,026.61
DOW   38,671.69
QQQ   437.05
Israel's finance minister blasts Moody's downgrade of the the country's credit rating
The perfect AI stock under $10 (Ad)
Mardi Gras beads are creating a plastic disaster in New Orleans. Are there green alternatives?
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BREAKING: The truth about war with China (Ad)
Venezuela defends military buildup, accusing neighboring Guyana of granting illegal oil contracts
Recession risks are fading, business economists say, but political tensions pose threat to economy
The perfect AI stock under $10 (Ad)
Stock market today: World shares mostly higher after S&P 500 tops 5,000
Biden's campaign joins TikTok, even as administration warns of national security concerns with app
S&P 500   5,026.61
DOW   38,671.69
QQQ   437.05
Israel's finance minister blasts Moody's downgrade of the the country's credit rating
The perfect AI stock under $10 (Ad)
Mardi Gras beads are creating a plastic disaster in New Orleans. Are there green alternatives?
Super Bowl Live Updates | 49ers are Super Bowl favorites in 2025
BREAKING: The truth about war with China (Ad)
Venezuela defends military buildup, accusing neighboring Guyana of granting illegal oil contracts
Recession risks are fading, business economists say, but political tensions pose threat to economy
The perfect AI stock under $10 (Ad)
Stock market today: World shares mostly higher after S&P 500 tops 5,000
Biden's campaign joins TikTok, even as administration warns of national security concerns with app

Costco Wholesale (COST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

$723.40
-0.76 (-0.10%)
(As of 02/9/2024 08:56 PM ET)
Today's Range
$720.12
$725.53
50-Day Range
$599.08
$724.16
52-Week Range
$465.33
$728.17
Volume
1.43 million shs
Average Volume
2.08 million shs
Market Capitalization
$320.99 billion
P/E Ratio
49.31
Dividend Yield
0.56%
Price Target
$659.96

Costco Wholesale MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Analyst Rating
Moderate Buy
2.72 Rating Score
Upside/​Downside
8.8% Downside
$659.96 Price Target
Short Interest
Healthy
1.37% of Float Sold Short
Dividend Strength
Strong
Based on Four Factors
Sustainability
-3.96
Upright™ Environmental Score
News Sentiment
0.64mentions of Costco Wholesale in the last 14 days
Based on 87 Articles This Week
Insider Trading
Selling Shares
$9.38 M Sold Last Quarter
Proj. Earnings Growth
9.39%
From $15.66 to $17.13 Per Share

Overall MarketRank

New Rank-Based ScoringMarketRank is calculated by averaging available category scores (with extra weight given to analysis and valuation), then ranking the company's weighted average against that of other companies.

4.34 out of 5 stars

Retail/Wholesale Sector

33rd out of 205 stocks

Variety Stores Industry

4th out of 8 stocks


COST stock logo

About Costco Wholesale Stock (NASDAQ:COST)

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.

 

 

COST Stock Price History

COST Stock News Headlines

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BJ’s Wholesale has leading positions in the eastern U.S. portion of the warehouse club market and its embrace of digitization is proving to be an emerging growth driver.
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Retailers see earnings growth ahead but investors are lukewarm (COST)
Despite high earnings expectations, retail stocks struggle, raising questions about consumer spending, even as the Fed is likely to cut interest rates in 2024.
Food fight! Which grocery store stocks will win in 2024? (COST)
Food retailers and distributors could be some of the biggest winners in 2024 - including these three stocks which may be worth placing in the shopping cart.
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Consumer staples vs. consumer discretionary (COST)
What is consumer staples vs. consumer discretionary? In a strong economy, consumers spend more on consumer discretionary products. Learn more with MarketBeat.
Laser breakthrough could send stock soaring 2,467%
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Where Will Costco Stock Be in 10 Years?
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Costco: The Retailer May Have Gotten Ahead Of Itself
See More Headlines
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Company Calendar

Last Earnings
12/14/2023
Ex-Dividend for 1/12 Dividend
12/27/2023
Dividend Payable
1/12/2024
Ex-Dividend for 2/16 Dividend
2/01/2024
Today
2/12/2024
Dividend Payable
2/16/2024
Next Earnings (Confirmed)
3/07/2024
Fiscal Year End
8/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Industry
Variety stores
Sub-Industry
Hypermarkets & Super Centers
Current Symbol
NASDAQ:COST
CUSIP
22160K10
Employees
316,000
Year Founded
1983

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target
$659.96
High Stock Price Target
$760.00
Low Stock Price Target
$502.00
Potential Upside/Downside
-8.8%
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
2.72
Research Coverage
25 Analysts

Profitability

Net Income
$6.29 billion
Pretax Margin
3.59%

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$242.29 billion
Cash Flow
$19.42 per share
Book Value
$56.55 per share

Miscellaneous

Free Float
442,929,000
Market Cap
$320.99 billion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
0.77

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COST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy or sell Costco Wholesale stock right now?

25 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Costco Wholesale in the last twelve months. There are currently 7 hold ratings and 18 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" COST shares.
View COST analyst ratings
or view top-rated stocks.

What is Costco Wholesale's stock price target for 2024?

25 Wall Street research analysts have issued 12 month target prices for Costco Wholesale's shares. Their COST share price targets range from $502.00 to $760.00. On average, they expect the company's share price to reach $659.96 in the next twelve months. This suggests that the stock has a possible downside of 8.8%.
View analysts price targets for COST
or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts.

How have COST shares performed in 2024?

Costco Wholesale's stock was trading at $660.08 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, COST shares have increased by 9.6% and is now trading at $723.40.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here
.

When is Costco Wholesale's next earnings date?

The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, March 7th 2024.
View our COST earnings forecast
.

How can I listen to Costco Wholesale's earnings call?

Costco Wholesale will be holding an earnings conference call on Thursday, March 7th at 5:00 PM Eastern. Interested parties can register for or listen to the call using this link.

How were Costco Wholesale's earnings last quarter?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) released its earnings results on Thursday, December, 14th. The retailer reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.07. The retailer earned $57.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.79 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.65% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 27.44%. The business's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.10 EPS.
Read the conference call transcript
.

How often does Costco Wholesale pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Costco Wholesale?

Costco Wholesale announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share on Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 1st.
Read our dividend analysis for COST
.

Is Costco Wholesale a good dividend stock?

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 0.56%. The company has been increasing its dividend for 20 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 27.81%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, COST will have a dividend payout ratio of 23.82% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
Read our dividend analysis for COST.

How were Costco Wholesale's same store sales last quarter?

Costco Wholesale same store sales rose 10% during the month of January. Costco Wholesale stock climbed by 0% in the first day of trading following the report.

What is Craig Jelinek's approval rating as Costco Wholesale's CEO?

3,447 employees have rated Costco Wholesale Chief Executive Officer Craig Jelinek on Glassdoor.com. Craig Jelinek has an approval rating of 92% among the company's employees. This puts Craig Jelinek in the top 30% of approval ratings compared to other CEOs of publicly-traded companies.

What other stocks do shareholders of Costco Wholesale own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Costco Wholesale investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Walt Disney (DIS), Alibaba Group (BABA), Home Depot (HD), Netflix (NFLX), Visa (V), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Tesla (TSLA), Walmart (WMT) and Boeing (BA).

Who are Costco Wholesale's major shareholders?

Costco Wholesale's stock is owned by a number of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Norges Bank (1.24%), Jennison Associates LLC (0.76%), International Assets Investment Management LLC (0.70%), Fisher Asset Management LLC (0.63%), Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (0.60%) and California Public Employees Retirement System (0.35%). Insiders that own company stock include Caton Frates, Claudine Adamo, Daniel M Hines, James C Klauer, James C Klauer, James P Murphy, Joseph P Portera, Kenneth D Denman, Mary Agnes Wilderotter, Patrick J Callans, Patrick J Callans, Pierre Riel, Richard A Galanti, Roland Michael Vachris, Russell D Miller, Susan L Decker, Timothy L Rose, W Craig Jelinek and Yoram Rubanenko.
View institutional ownership trends
.

How do I buy shares of Costco Wholesale?

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.

Does Costco Wholesale have any subsidiaries?
The following companies are subsidiares of Costco Wholesale: 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., Costco Wholesale Membership Inc., Costco Wholesale United Kingdom Ltd., Innovel Solutions, NW Re Ltd., and PriceCostco International Inc..
Read More
This page (NASDAQ:COST) was last updated on 2/12/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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