Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST, Financial) fell 1.6% to $284.25 in after-hours trading on Thursday despite announcing positive results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2019.
The warehouse chain operator posted GAAP earnings of $2.47 per share, up 4.7% year over year, on $47.5 billion in revenue, reflecting 7% growth from the year-ago quarter. Earnings beat estimates by 8 cents and revenue topped projections by $210 million.
During the quarter, the company's adjusted total comparable sales increased 5.1% and e-commerce sales grew 21.9%.
By geographic segment, comparable sales rose 5.2% in the U.S., 4.7% in Canada and 5% internationally.
Costco also reported full fiscal 2019 results. The most relevant changes from full fiscal 2018 were a 16.9% increase in net income to $3.66 billion, or net earnings of $8.26 per diluted share, on $152.7 billion in total revenue, which grew 7.9%.
During the year, the company's total adjusted comparable sales increased 6.1% and adjusted sales from e-commerce climbed 23.3%.
Costco had 783 membership warehouses in operation at the end of fiscal 2019, up from 762 locations last year.
The company also manages websites for e-commerce in North America, Mexico, the United Kingdom as well as in Korea and Taiwan.
The company's balance sheet had $9.4 billion in cash on hand and short-term investments, $11.4 billion in total merchandise inventories and about $6.8 billion in total debt as of Sept. 1. Total equity was $15.6 billion.
Year to date, the stock has gained 42% to above the 120- and 70-day simple moving average lines. The share price is still below the 30-day line. Shares closed at $289 on Thursday for a market capitalization of $127.1 billion.
The 52-week range is $189.51 to $307.34.
The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of 65 cents per common share, which produces a forward dividend yield of 0.91% versus the industry median of 2.12% and versus the S&P 500’s yield of 1.93% based on Thursday’s closing prices.
Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating for shares of Costco with an average target price of $297.86, reflecting 3% upside from Thursday’s closing price.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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