COST Q1 EPS Forecast Increased by Telsey Advisory Group

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group increased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $4.29 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.28. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2026 earnings at $6.53 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $20.09 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $988.74 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $976.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $985.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $852.40 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $438.49 billion, a PE ratio of 56.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.