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Costco (COST) Stock Moves -1.55%: What You Should Know

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The most recent trading session ended with Costco (COST - Free Report) standing at $878.57, reflecting a -1.55% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 2.12% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.51%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 3.26%.

Heading into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 11.29% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 6.81% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.78% in that time.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Costco in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on September 26, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $5.02, showcasing a 3.29% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $80.2 billion, up 1.59% from the year-ago period.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.12% lower within the past month. Costco presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Costco is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 50.64. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 20.64 for its industry.

It is also worth noting that COST currently has a PEG ratio of 5.42. 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 1.99 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 181, placing it within the bottom 29% of over 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.

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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