At the last check on Thursday, Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (NASDAQ:COST) stock was down -$4.83, moving down -0.86 percent to $559.00. The average number of shares traded per day over the past five days has been 1,361,808 shares. 2 times new highs have been achieved over the past 5 days, with a -$5.00 fall in that time frame. In the last twenty days, the average volume was 1,380,582, while in the previous 50 days, it was 1,515,797.
Since last month, COST stock rose 3.83%. Shares of the company fell to $530.56 on 08/25/23, the lowest level in the past month. A 52-week high of $571.16 was reached on 07/27/23 after having rallying from a 52-week low of $447.90. Since the beginning of this year, COST’s stock price has risen by 22.45% or $103.27, and marked a new high 27 times. However, the stock has declined by -2.13% since its 52-week high.
COST stock investors should be aware that Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 85 days ago on Jun 28. DECKER SUSAN L, the Director of the company, disposed of 1,565 shares for $533.00 on Jun 28. It resulted in a $834,145 divestment by the insider. GALANTI RICHARD A sold 1,500 shares at an average price of $522.02 on Jun 13. The insider now owns 23,850 shares following the transaction. On Jun 07, Director DECKER SUSAN L sold 3,971 shares at $514.14 apiece. The transaction was valued at $2,041,659.
Valuation Metrics
Right now, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) has a P/E ratio of about 41.41. The stock’s beta is 0.78. Besides these, the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.07, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 10.53, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 43.18 may also be considered.
The latest dividend of $1.02 per share was paid out, remained unchanged from last year’s $1.02. On Wednesday April 19 2023, a $0.12 dividend increase was announced.
Financial Health
In the three months ended May 30, Costco Wholesale Corporation’s quick ratio stood at 0.60, while its current ratio was 1.10, showing that the company is not able to pay off its debt. According to company report, the long-term debt-to-equity ratio for the quarter ending May 30 was 0.28, and the total debt-to-equity ratio was 0.28. On the profitability front, the trailing twelve-month gross margin is 12.10% percent. In the year ended May 30, EBITDA margin amounted to 4.44%, whereas operating margins totaled 3.30%. Based on annual data, COST earned $27.57 billion in gross profit and brought in $226.95 billion in revenue.
A company’s management is another factor that investors consider when determining the profitability of an investment. In the past year, return on investment (ROI) was 20.40%. Return on equity (ROE) for the past 12 months was 27.10%.
In Costco Wholesale Corporation’s quarter-end financial report for May 30, it reported total debt of $6.5 billion. According to the earnings report, the company had a lower net income in the recent quarter than it did in the previous quarter. COST’s revenue rose 1.96% to $55.27 billion during the quarter, while net income inched up to $53.65 billion. While analysts expected Costco Wholesale Corporation to report $3.29 quarterly earnings, the actual figure was $2.93 per share, beating the consensus estimate by -10.90%. During the quarter, the company generated $2.15 billion in EBITDA. The liabilities of Costco Wholesale Corporation were 43.18 billion at the end of its most recent quarter ended May 30, and its total debt was $9.0 billion. The value of shareholders’ equity is $443.15 million.
Technical Picture
This quick technical analysis looks at Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (COST) price momentum. With a historical volatility rate of 13.40%, the RSI 9-day stood at 56.35% on 20 September.
With respect to its five-day moving average, the current Costco Wholesale Corporation price is down by -0.89% percent or -$5.00. At present, COST shares trade +3.50% above its 20-day simple moving average and +11.24% percent above its 100-day simple moving average. However, the stock is currently trading approximately +4.05% above its SMA50 and +13.19% above its SMA200.
Stochastic coefficient K was 80.15% and Stochastic coefficient D was 83.27%, while ATR was 6.92. Given the Stochastic reading of 67.46% for the 14-day period, the RSI (14) reading has been calculated as 56.44%. As of today, the MACD Oscillator reading stands at 1.64, while the 14-day reading stands at 6.61.
Analyst Ratings
William Blair launched its rating on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) to an Outperform in a note to investors on April 13, 2023. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) has been rated Overweight by analysts. According to 0 brokerage firms, COST is a sell, and 9 firms recommend it is a Hold. There are 2 analysts who say the stock is underweight. A total of 4 analysts rate Costco Wholesale Corporation stock as buy, with 21 recommending it as overweight.
With a median target price of $575.00, the current consensus forecast for the stock is $478.00 – $651.00. Based on these forecasts, analysts predict Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) will achieve an average price target of $571.41.
