COST - Costco Wholesale Corporation
| Previous Close | 236.59 |
| Open | 237.52 |
| Bid | 232.65 x 1800 |
| Ask | 240.00 x 2200 |
| Day's Range | 236.29 - 238.05 |
| 52 Week Range | 180.83 - 245.16 |
| Volume | 1,852,346 |
| Avg. Volume | 2,415,706 |
| Market Cap | 104.274B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.03 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 30.43 |
| EPS (TTM) | 7.79 |
| Earnings Date | May 30, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 2.28 (0.96%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-02-07 |
| 1y Target Est | 240.78 |
- Fox Business Videos•6 days ago
Low-cost retailers leading the brick-and-mortar retail comeback?
Former Toys ‘R’ Us CEO Gerald Storch on retailers such as Dollar General, TJ Max and Costco opening new stores across the country.
Yahoo Finance•20 hours agoWarren Buffett: We paid too much for Kraft, not Heinz
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- The Wall Street Journal•7 hours ago
Corrections & Amplifications
Corrections & Amplifications Hotel brand Westin was misspelled as Weston in a Business & Finance article Tuesday about Marriott International Inc. Costco Wholesale Corp. raised its minimum hourly wage to 15 Canadian dollars (US$11.
- Kiplinger•14 hours ago
5 Warren Buffett Stocks He's Likely In for the Long Term
Warren Buffett has a clear investing mantra: He likes value, and he likes holding on for the long term. The tactic has worked out well. Since Buffett took the reins of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) in 1964, through the end of 2018, his stock has delivered an annual return of 20.5% that more than doubled the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.Indeed, as the Oracle of Omaha famously told investors, his favorite investing period is "forever." This message reappeared in the hedge fund guru's most recent annual letter. In describing the fund's current portfolio of stocks, Buffett wrote, "In all likelihood, we will hold most of these stocks for a long time."The 88-year old continued, "My expectation of more stock purchases is not a market call. Charlie and I have no idea as to how stocks will behave next week or next year. Predictions of that sort have never been a part of our activities. Our thinking, rather, is focused on calculating whether a portion of an attractive business is worth more than its market price."That said, times change, and so do investing theses. Buffett has exited positions before, and will continue doing so when it makes sense - sometimes very quickly. For instance, Berkshire recently announced that it had exited its position in Oracle (ORCL) during the fourth quarter - a position it had initiated just one quarter earlier! That's an exception to the norm, but the point is some Buffett stocks are destined to be around longer than others.With this in mind, we delved into Berkshire's portfolio and found five Warren Buffett stocks that seem likely to stick around for the long term. SEE ALSO: The 25 Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Now (According to Hedge Funds)
- Zacks•18 hours ago
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- Markit•20 hours ago
See what the IHS Markit Score report has to say about Costco Wholesale Corp.
Costco Wholesale Corp NASDAQ/NGS:COSTView full report here! Summary * Perception of the company's creditworthiness is neutral * ETFs holding this stock are seeing positive inflows * Bearish sentiment is low Bearish sentimentShort interest | PositiveShort interest is extremely low for COST with fewer than 1% of shares on loan. This could indicate that investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices are not currently targeting COST. Money flowETF/Index ownership | PositiveETF activity is positive. Over the last month, ETFs holding COST are favorable, with net inflows of $14.27 billion. Additionally, the rate of inflows is increasing. Economic sentimentPMI by IHS Markit | NeutralAccording to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, output in the Consumer Services sector is rising. The rate of growth is weak relative to the trend shown over the past year, however. Credit worthinessCredit default swap | NeutralThe current level displays a neutral indicator. COST credit default swap spreads are near their highest levels of the last 3 years, which indicates the market's more negative perception of the company's credit worthiness.Please send all inquiries related to the report to score@ihsmarkit.com.Charts and report PDFs will only be available for 30 days after publishing.This document has been produced for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon or as construed as investment advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IHS Markit disclaims any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), equity or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on or the use of this material in any way. Please view the full legal disclaimer and methodology information on pages 2-3 of the full report.
- Market Realist•20 hours ago
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- Moody's•23 hours ago
RETL 2019-RVP -- Moody's assigns provisional ratings to five CMBS classes of RETL 2019-RVP
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- CNBC•2 days ago
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TJX Companies Gains 19% in 3 Months: Will Momentum Sustain?
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- Zacks•2 days ago
Slow Week of Economic Data, Boeing (BA) Gets Subpoena
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- InvestorPlace•3 days ago
3 Reasons to Buy Costco Stock After Strong Earnings Show Business Strength
Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) jumped 5% trading following the warehouse retailer's positive earnings news on March 7. But broader market pressure put a damper on COST stock despite strong results. But it's because of those good results that this action caught our eye. After the big move, Costco stock continued to climb, leaving many investors to wonder what to do now.Is there still time to get long?Costco stock is setting up as a solid long for several reasons. Let's discuss three of them.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Costco Stock EarningsFor the fiscal second quarter, Costco stock reported earning per share of $2.01, 31 cents ahead of expectations. That 18% earnings surprise pushed the performance up more than 40% year-over-year (YoY). However, revenue of $35.65 billion came up short by more than $250 million, despite growing more than 7.2% YoY. A bottom-line beat and top-line miss can spell trouble for a stock, particularly on a bad market day like the one we had on Friday. * 15 Stocks Sitting on Huge Piles of Cash But that wasn't the case for COST stock and I think it's due to the strength in the business once we dig past the headline results. Forex and gas deflation weighed on revenue, as did the weather in some cases. Given the winter we've had, it's hard to deny that as a factor. If these issues caused the miss, investors were apparently fine with overlooking the sales shortfall. Further, U.S. comp-store sales jumped 7.2% YoY, but online sales were even more impressive. E-commerce comps jumped 25.5% YoY, showing just how well Costco is adjusting its business model for its customers.To be sure, the results could have been stronger, but it was still a pretty good showing for one of the market's premier retailers. Coupled with some of the catalysts below, the report is enough to help, not hinder COST stock. Trading Costco Stock Click to EnlargeAfter a solid rally on Friday, March 8, COST stock followed up with an explosive move higher on the following Monday and Tuesday. All told, shares are now up around 8% since reporting earnings. However, according to the relative strength index, the stock price was overbought in the short-term. As shown in the chart above, over the past 12 months this type of condition has tended to put pressure on Costco stock in the short term.If we get that here, I would love to see a few days of sideways action and/or a slight pullback. It would be a very healthy way for Costco stock to digest the big rally. On a pullback, it would be bullish to see the $230 level hold as support and give its 20-day moving average a chance to catch up to the move.If COST stock starts to move higher again, $240 could be a reasonable upside target, with former highs near $245 as the second target. On the downside, I'm watching $230. If it doesn't hold, I want to see the 20-day or uptrend support hold. Below $225 and Costco stock will be concerning from the long side over the short-term.Overall though, it's hard to be too bearish after a rally like this. Analysts Are Boosting EstimatesWe're halfway through Costco's fiscal year and full-year estimates are impressive. Analysts now expect the company to earn $7.92 per share, up 11.7% from last year, with 7.7% sales growth. For next year, consensus expectations call for a deceleration in growth as analysts expect earnings and revenue to grow 7.4% and 6.9%, respectively.It's worth pointing out that current-year estimates of $7.92 per share are up from $7.76 just a week ago. Still, Costco stock trades at a premium, at 29 times this year's earnings. That's in-line with its five-year average, while its forward price-to-earnings ratio of ~27 is roughly in-line as well. However, COST stock is trading at a premium to some of its other metrics. * 15 Stocks That May Be Hurt by This Year's Big IPOs Is that premium deserved? Like Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and other premier companies, Costco knows it won't dominate Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Because it collects an annual fee from its 52 million members and retains a high percentage of those members (with a retention rate above 90% last quarter), Costco has flexibility. Its online and same-day delivery show strong growth and Costco will be one of the companies that not only survives but thrives from e-commerce growth.When it comes to dividend yield, Costco is no Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), as it pays out just 1%. However, last April the company bumped this payout by 14%, which is roughly in-line with its five-year average of 14.5% annual dividend growth. That's a solid raise to receive each year, particularly considering how well COST stock has done in that span as well, up 105%.Costco stock isn't cheap, but it deserves its premium valuation as a blue-chip retailer.Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long AMZN. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy Today * 7 ETFs to Buy to Ride the Longevity Economy * 7 Winning High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Payouts Over 5% Compare Brokers The post 3 Reasons to Buy Costco Stock After Strong Earnings Show Business Strength appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Motley Fool•5 days ago
Costco Keeps Crushing It Thanks to 1 Key Market
Domestically, the warehouse chain is outperforming. So why can't it get better traction internationally?
- InvestorPlace•5 days ago
Ulta Beauty Stock Must Hold This Level After Strong Earnings
On Thursday after the close, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) delivered a top- and bottom-line earnings beat for the fourth quarter. The report and conference call was enough to vault Ulta Beauty stock higher by roughly 5% in after-hours trading. If the stock maintains those levels on Friday, ULTA will hit a new 52-week and all-time high.Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr But those highs are a lot more important than making longs feel good going into the weekend. In fact, if Ulta stock can close around where it opens, up around 5% or so, it will have cleared multi-year resistance and give investors a chance to ride significant upside. Let's look at the charts first, then check out the quarter. Trading Ulta Beauty StockInvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsI don't care for two-year daily charts, but it's the best way to show the long (and painful) road Ulta Beauty stock has been on. After surging higher for years on the back of CEO Mary Dillon's leadership, Ulta came under intense pressure in 2017. The stock fell from $315 to sub-$200 in just a few months, cementing the former figure as resistance. * 5 Undervalued Stocks to Invest In 13 months after bottoming in 2017, Ulta stock was again back at $315. Surprisingly, this was in November 2018, right as the broader market was struggling through a nasty Q4 correction. Ulta Beauty stock wasn't immune though, finally falling in December and bottoming near $230, down more than 25% from those highs.The bulls just won't give it up though. Lately, Ulta Beauty stock has been bumbling along between $305 and $315, itching for a big-time breakout. That's why Friday's rally is so important. If Ulta can hold Friday's rally -- which currently in pre-market trading has it priced near $328 -- then the breakout can officially begin.Most importantly, we need to see Ulta stock close over $320. It helps that the stock isn't wildly overbought at this point and that could allow the share price some room to run. A disastrous way to end the week would be for Ulta stock to end lower on Friday. If the gains hold, a push into the upper $330s to lower $340s doesn't seem unrealistic. Was the Quarter That Good?We really need to examine the most recent earnings report to get the best idea of whether Ulta Beauty stock will be able to maintain its recent gains. So how did the company do?Earnings of $3.61 per share came in 5 cents ahead of expectations and grew 31% year-over-year. Revenue of $2.12 billion topped estimates by $10 million and grew 9.3% year-over-year. In other words, it was a very solid quarter for Ulta, but one where the company squeaked by analysts' estimates.Under the surface though, this one was strong.Comp-store sales grew 9%, ahead of management's expectation for 7% to 8% growth, as well as consensus estimates of 8%. E-commerce sales blazed higher by 25% and gross margins expanded 90 basis points. Operating margins inched higher by 10 basis points, even after a 30 basis point impact from a change in accounting rules. Finally, full-year earnings guidance of $12.65 to $12.85 per share (midpoint of $12.75 per share) came in just ahead of consensus expectations for $12.73 per share. * 15 Stocks That May Be Hurt by This Year's Big IPOs Ultimately, Ulta's earnings remind me of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from last week, and just look at how that one's done since its report. I'm not saying Ulta Beauty stock will do the same thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw continued momentum over the next few sessions. The company didn't blow investors away with the quarter necessarily, but it showed that it's doing extremely well right now.Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy Today * 7 ETFs to Buy to Ride the Longevity Economy * 7 Winning High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Payouts Over 5% Compare Brokers The post Ulta Beauty Stock Must Hold This Level After Strong Earnings appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks•5 days ago
Zacks Earnings Trends Highlights: Costco, AutoZone, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo
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- Zacks•5 days ago
Try Your Luck Out With These Stocks on St. Patrick's Day
These stocks could be up or green returns on the occasion of St. Patrick's Day.
- InvestorPlace•5 days ago
MasterCard Stock Is A Buy, But Is It A Better Buy Than Its Card Peers?
Mastercard's (NYSE:MA) battle with long-time archrival Visa (NYSE:V) continues, with a win in the bidding for fintech firm Transfast. Coming in the wake of losing out in an effort to purchase a similar company, cross-border payments network provider Earthport, MA stock investors can be confident the payments processor is doing all it can to remain competitive.Both Mastercard and Visa have seen their stocks rise as the world moves to cashless economies. With the evolution to digital money, the entire payments industry continues to benefit from double-digit profit growth.At the same time, it makes a decision to invest in MA stock or V shares more than a simple buy-or-sell question. In this industry, investors should not ask if they should buy Mastercard stock; they should find out if it or one of its peers would bring more profit?InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips MasterCard Keeps Up Yet Falls BehindWith MasterCard buying Transfast and Visa presumably winning the bidding war to acquire Earthport, both firms get better access to bank accounts and ACH networks globally. Perhaps more importantly, both card processors expand their presence in peer-to-peer money transactions.So, as the world more toward a cashless society, the MA-Visa rivalry gets more heated. In nearly all cases, most merchants accept both types of cards. Yes, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) only accepts Visa, but such exclusive instances are rare. * 7 Winning High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Payouts Over 5% However, despite this parity, Visa dominates in terms of gross dollar volume, which covers all types of transactions. As of the third quarter of 2018, Visa controlled 61.5% of the market. This compares to only 25.2% for MA, and 11.1% for American Express (NYSE:AXP). Mastercard Benefits From Fintech GrowthHowever, where Mastercard lags in credit cards, it has compensated with its moves into debit cards and e-commerce. Thankfully for Mastercard stock bulls, these areas will see the most near-term growth in the fintech space.The benefit -- and the problem -- with this fintech sector is that every equity in the industry would probably bring profits. Even Discover Financial (NYSE:DFS), which holds only 2.2% of the market, should see double-digit profit growth this year. One could make an argument that MA stock would deliver higher returns than Discover. However, whether it can outperform its other peers is the bigger question. Should I Buy MA Stock?The MA stock price hovers near its 52-week high of about $228 per share. Still, it struggles to stand out even as it posts stellar numbers. In both profit and valuation, Mastercard and Visa appear similar. Mastercard stock analysts forecast profit increases of 16.3% this year and 18.4% in 2020. This barely exceeds the 15.4% rate for 2019 and 15.8% 2020 growth predicted for Visa. Moreover, the forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio slightly exceeds that of Visa, 25.5 vs. 24.8. * 7 Top Stocks to Buy From Goldman Sachs' Secret Portfolio I like Mastercard stock better now than last year when I panned it for its high multiple and lower profit growth. Achieving near parity with Visa has changed the value proposition. However, it has not made MA stock more of a bargain than Visa.Moreover, if we evaluate these stocks purely on valuation, both American Express and Discover trade at single-digit PE ratios. Both have grown profits more slowly than Mastercard. However, with American Express set to overtake Mastercard as the second-largest processor of credit cards, AXP stock could become the equity of choice in this space. Bottom Line on Mastercard StockAlthough Mastercard stock remains a buy, the fintech sector appears to offer better options. The purchase of Transfast should enhance Mastercard's ability to conduct transactions. However, it continues to struggle to differentiate itself from Visa even as Visa achieves increasing dominance with credit card transactions.MA stock will continue to benefit from double-digit profit growth for the foreseeable future. Also, even though its 25.5 PE ratio exceeds its peers, most analysts would not call Mastercard stock "overpriced." Still, for investors who intend to pursue a higher return, they might see a larger profit by buying AXP stock.As of this writing, Will Healy did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. You can follow Will on Twitter at @HealyWriting. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 15 Stocks Sitting on Huge Piles of Cash * The 10 Best Stocks to Buy for the Bull Market's Anniversary * 7 Dividend Stocks With Big Yields Compare Brokers The post MasterCard Stock Is A Buy, But Is It A Better Buy Than Its Card Peers? appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- InvestorPlace•5 days ago
It Was a Costco Christmas Last Year
Whatever else 2018 brought to the U.S., it was a Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Christmas.Source: Shutterstock The wholesale warehouse club's U.S. sales rose 7.4% for the quarter ending in January, with same store sales up a full 6%. * 15 Stocks That May Be Hurt by This Year's Big IPOs The result was net income of $889 million, $2.01 per share fully diluted, on revenue of $34.628 billion. Profits even exceeded membership fees of $768 million.Regular members noticed. The parking lot of my nearest Costco this past Christmas looked like a Trader Joe's, and I had to go to another one. Investors were even bigger winners. The shares had hit a mid-December low of $194.50, but opened for trade March 12 at over $229 and are approaching last year's record high of $241.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Most Valuable RetailerAt its current price, Costco has a market cap of $101 billion, a price-to-earnings multiple over 29, and is worth 72% of its sales.Compare Costco's valuation to that of Walmart (NYSE:WMT), analysts' previous favorite. That company has a market cap that is 55% of sales, and its dividend of $2.12 per year yields 2.18%, while Costco's $2.28 per share represents a yield of just 1.05%.The only thing overpriced at Costco is Costco. No one has named their dog after it, but they're getting close. Costco caters to upper-middle class, suburban tastes. Its stores feature the finest wines, prime meats, extra virgin olive oil and store brand liquor that's equal to the best name brands. Its arrangement with Citigroup (NYSE:C) to handle Visa (NYSE:V) cards has proven profitable for both the company and its members (we're taking a weekend vacation on our dividend). Its growth rate in e-commerce is 24%. Within its niche, Costco is even more popular than Amazon.Com (NASDAQ:AMZN).Small wonder that, even at its current price, 12 of 27 analysts following the stock say buy it and none says sell.Costco does this while paying what workers consider reasonable salaries, with cashiers making almost half the salary of store managers. The company recently hiked its minimum wage to $15 per hour.When you go there, people smile. How Long, How HighThe problem is that when you buy a stock you're paying for its yesterdays and buying its tomorrows. The price of Costco stock today is close to the price targets of Costco bulls.Costco is not growing as fast internationally as it is in the U.S., and it is starting to saturate the U.S. market, where it has 535 of its 770 warehouses. It can cost $100 million to build and outfit a new store, and the company is very careful to get the very best deals on them. Rumors of possible new store openings are big news, and when the company walks away there is often profound disappointment. Costco bears are left wishing and hoping that scan-and-go shopping, in which customers scan the items they want and get them delivered, mobile payments with installment financing, or warehouse fulfillment will deliver Costco's savings with greater convenience. Trouble is, Costco is already doing some of these things. The Bottom Line on Costco StockCostco is running on all cylinders. It's not doing a thing wrong. Customers and analysts know this.This means Costco is a pricey stock. It can't make you rich because everyone is already in it. Its growth may be limited because it has already scaled. * 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy Today But if anyone knows the future of upper-class consumption, it's Costco. I wouldn't bet against it. You may just want to wait for another market crash like last December's to buy it.A Costco shopper is always looking for bargains.Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a new mystery thriller, The Reluctant Detective Finds Her Family, available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned shares in AMZN. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 15 Stocks Sitting on Huge Piles of Cash * The 10 Best Stocks to Buy for the Bull Market's Anniversary * 7 Dividend Stocks With Big Yields Compare Brokers The post It Was a Costco Christmas Last Year appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Motley Fool•6 days ago
Good News From Stitch Fix, Bad News From Dick’s Sporting Goods
The subscription fashion seller delivered the quarter investors wanted to see, while the athletic and outdoor gear retailer showed weakness.
- Zacks•6 days ago
Dollar General (DG) Stock Down on Q4 Earnings Miss, Soft View
Dollar General (DG) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results, wherein the bottom line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Also, the company provided soft earnings view for fiscal 2019.
- Zacks•6 days ago
Is Costco Wholesale (COST) Stock Outpacing Its Retail-Wholesale Peers This Year?
Is (COST) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?
