Coca-Cola Stock Earnings Estimates Reduced by Zacks Research

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2028 EPS estimates for Coca-Cola in a report released on Tuesday, November 10th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $0.94 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.95. The consensus estimate for Coca-Cola’s current full-year earnings is $3.34 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Freedom Broker upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. CICC Research boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $97.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.06. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $97.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $419.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.28.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The business had revenue of $13.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 330,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,408,000 after acquiring an additional 17,281 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 168,523,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,594,239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,908 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 131.3% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 2,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC now owns 155,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd grew its position in Coca-Cola by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd now owns 9,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 67,548 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total transaction of $6,410,980.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 160,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,226,221.48. The trade was a 29.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 20,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.62, for a total transaction of $1,968,337.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,354,814.60. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.35%.

Key Headlines Impacting Coca-Cola

Investors following KO have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Growth in functional beverages may broaden growth opportunities. Zacks cites traction in fairlife, Powerade and smartwater, along with innovation and capacity expansion. Zacks article on functional beverages
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO John Murphy is scheduled to present at a Morgan Stanley conference on Dec. 2. The appearance may provide a forum for company updates, but the announcement itself contains no new financial guidance. Conference announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and a lower dividend yield could limit appeal for some investors. Commentary notes KO is not cheap and that its share-price gains have reduced its forward yield to roughly 2.2%–2.3%, potentially tempering upside or income-focused demand. TIKR article on Coca-Cola’s dividend yield

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.