Costco (COST) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Costco (COST) closed at $460.73, marking a +0.51% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.85% gain on the day.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 1.34% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 0.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.37% in that time.
COST will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be September 23, 2021. In that report, analysts expect COST to post earnings of $3.53 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.78%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $62.81 billion, up 17.66% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for COST should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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 1.1% higher. COST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Investors should also note COST's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 39.85. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.44.
It is also worth noting that COST currently has a PEG ratio of 4.29. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Retail - Discount Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.85 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, putting it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
To follow COST in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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