Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 24th

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) declared a special dividend on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $30.00 per share by the retailer on Friday, December 4th. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th.

Costco Wholesale has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Costco Wholesale has a dividend payout ratio of 29.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Costco Wholesale to earn $24.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.6%.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $1,087.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $960.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $973.88. The company has a market capitalization of $481.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.85. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 22.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Costco Wholesale to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,200.00 to $1,095.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,091.00 to $1,079.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,092.23.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally low prices. Its products include groceries, fresh foods, appliances, electronics, apparel, furniture, and household goods, as well as its Kirkland Signature private-label line. The company also provides services such as gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical and hearing-aid centers, food courts, and travel offerings. Costco serves members through warehouses and online channels.