Costco (COST) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

Costco (COST) closed at $936.33 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.16% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.53%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.52%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.52%. The warehouse club operator's shares have seen a decrease of 2.81% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 5.41% and falling behind the S&P 500's gain of 0.71%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Costco in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.24, showcasing a 10.99% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $67.19 billion, up 8.1% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $19.99 per share and revenue of $296.49 billion. These totals would mark changes of +11.12% and +7.72%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential. Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.72% higher. Costco currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). With respect to valuation, Costco is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 46.31. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 23.29 of its industry. Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 5.61. 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. COST's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.62 as of yesterday's close. The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions. 5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.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 ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks