Costco (COST) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

In the latest market close, Costco (COST) reached $890.17, with a +0.46% movement compared to the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.23%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.02%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.43%.Coming into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 1.43% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 0.58%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.54%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Costco in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $3.78, signifying an 8.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $62.38 billion, indicating a 7.92% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.76 per share and revenue of $273.5 billion, which would represent changes of +10.24% and +7.49%, respectively, from the prior year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.12% higher. Currently, Costco is carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Looking at valuation, Costco is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 49.91. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.47, which means Costco is trading at a premium to the group.Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 5.45. 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 2.4 at yesterday's closing price.The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 97, this industry ranks in the top 39% of all industries, numbering over 250.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.Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks