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Costco (COST) Stock Moves -0.08%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Costco (COST - Free Report) closed at $359.56, marking a -0.08% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.11% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.03%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.14%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the warehouse club operator had lost 3.99% over the past month. This has lagged the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.46% in that time.

COST will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.40, up 14.29% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $44.41 billion, up 13.66% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.98 per share and revenue of $185.68 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.77% and +11.35%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for COST. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.3% higher. COST currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note COST's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 35.6. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 23.88, which means COST is trading at a premium to the group.

Also, we should mention that COST has a PEG ratio of 4.08. 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. The Retail - Discount Stores was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.52 at yesterday's closing price.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 72, putting it in the top 29% 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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