Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $56.84, but opened at $52.35. Molson Coors Beverage shares last traded at $53.63, with a volume of 2,410,038 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.30). Molson Coors Beverage had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Molson Coors Beverage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Molson Coors Beverage’s payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on TAP shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised Molson Coors Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Molson Coors Beverage from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Molson Coors Beverage from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.49.

Institutional Trading of Molson Coors Beverage

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 1.4% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,369,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,711,000 after buying an additional 86,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,291,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,308,000 after purchasing an additional 54,867 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,130,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,442,000 after purchasing an additional 595,203 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,789,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,200,000 after purchasing an additional 152,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,753,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,146,000 after purchasing an additional 422,515 shares during the last quarter. 78.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molson Coors Beverage Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages.