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Costco (COST) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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Costco (COST - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $744.76, demonstrating a -0.08% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.17%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.25%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.37%.

Shares of the warehouse club operator witnessed a gain of 7.4% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its loss of 0.11% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.8%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Costco in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on March 7, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.60, reflecting a 9.09% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $59.2 billion, up 7.12% from the year-ago period.

COST's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $15.65 per share and revenue of $253.56 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +6.54% and +4.65%, respectively.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Costco. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.41% higher. Costco is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Costco has a Forward P/E ratio of 47.63 right now. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 22.47.

Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 5.26. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Discount Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.15 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 80, positioning it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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