Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $74.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KO. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.07.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,902,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,564,062. Coca-Cola has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $265.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% in the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. CCG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the third quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 15,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.