The stock of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) increased by $3.77 on Wednesday to $562.28, up 0.68 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 980,317 shares of common stock traded. 27 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a gain of $106.67. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 1,515,654, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 1,590,514.
COST stock appreciated 1.57% since last month. On 07/17/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $546.10. The stock touched a high of $571.16 on 07/27/23, after rallying from a low of $447.90 in 52 weeks. The price of COST stock has risen by 23.17% or $106.67 this year, reaching a new high 27 times. Still, the stock price is down -1.55% from the 52-week high.
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Insider Transactions
COST stock investors should be aware that Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 49 days ago on Jun 28. On Jun 28, Director DECKER SUSAN L sold 1,565 shares at $533.00 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $834,145. On Jun 13, GALANTI RICHARD A sold 1,500 shares at a price of US$522.02. After the transaction, the insider now owns 23,850 shares. Director DECKER SUSAN L had earlier sold 3,971 shares on Jun 07 for $514.14 a share. The transaction was completed for $2,041,659.
Valuation Metrics
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 41.66. Beta for the stock is 0.78. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.06, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 10.59, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 42.68.
Company paid $1.02 per share in dividends, remained unchanged from $1.02 last year.
Financial Health
For the three months ended May 30, Costco Wholesale Corporation’s quick ratio was 0.60, while its current ratio was 1.10, indicating its inability to pay off its debt. The company’s long-term debt to equity ratio for the quarter ending May 30 is 0.28, and the total debt to equity ratio is 0.28. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 12.10% percent. Costco Wholesale Corporation’s EBITDA margin for the year ended May 30 was 4.44%, whereas its operating margin stood at 3.30% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $27.57 billion and revenue of $226.95 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. COST’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been 9.10%. There was a 20.40% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was 27.10%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Costco Wholesale Corporation’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended May 30, it had $6.5 billion in total debt versus $1.22 billion in cash and short-term investments. A lower net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $53.65 billion, while revenues rose by 1.96% to $55.27 billion. It was predicted that Costco Wholesale Corporation’s quarterly earnings would be $2.93, but it ended up being $3.29, beating the consensus by -10.90%. EBITDA was $2.15 billion for the quarter. At the end of Costco Wholesale Corporation’s most recent quarter ended May 30, its liabilities totaled 43.18 billion, while its total debt was $9.0 billion. Equity owned by shareholders amounts to $443.15 million.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (COST) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 15 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 60.17%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 11.98% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 51.97% and 51.94% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 7.07. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 66.83%, the RSI (14) reading is 60.90%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at 1.73, and the 14-day reading is at 2.24.
Analyst Ratings
In its analyst report released on April 13, 2023, William Blair began covering Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST). The stock was rated as an Outperform by the brokerage firm. Analysts have assigned Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) an Overweight rating. COST is a stock that is recommended for selling by 0 brokerage firms, while 11 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 1 analyst. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 4 rates it overweight and 21 others recommend it as a buy.
What is COST’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $478.00 and $651.00, with a median target price of $575.00. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is $569.69.
