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Costco (COST) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Costco (COST - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $210.31, moving -0.22% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.15% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.21%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.81%.

Coming into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 3.47% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 8.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 6.55%.

COST will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be March 6, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.64, up 15.49% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $35.64 billion, up 8% from the prior-year quarter.

COST's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.65 per share and revenue of $152.78 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.01% and +7.91%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for COST should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% higher within the past month. COST currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that COST has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.54 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.04, which means COST is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 2.76. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Discount Stores was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.57 at yesterday's closing price.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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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