William Blair Expects Stronger Earnings for Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.46 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.39. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.01 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,050.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $958.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $911.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,063.00. The firm has a market cap of $466.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.71, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,360 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,762 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,447,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,903,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 707 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Draper Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.