Costco (COST) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

In the latest trading session, Costco (COST) closed at $893.48, marking a -0.63% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.33%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.76%.The the stock of warehouse club operator has fallen by 1.02% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 0.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.47%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Costco in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.78, reflecting an 8.62% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $62.38 billion, up 7.92% from the prior-year quarter.For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $17.75 per share and a revenue of $273.5 billion, demonstrating changes of +10.18% and +7.49%, respectively, from the preceding year.It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Costco. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.58% higher. At present, Costco boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Costco has a Forward P/E ratio of 50.65 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.4, which means Costco is trading at a premium to the group.We can additionally observe that COST currently boasts a PEG ratio of 5.53. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Retail - Discount Stores industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.37 as trading concluded yesterday.The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, which puts it in the bottom 38% 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.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want 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