Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $60.32, marking a -0.46% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.3% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.98%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 7.48%.
Coming into today, shares of the world's largest beverage maker had gained 0.8% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector lost 1.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.95%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Coca-Cola as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Coca-Cola is projected to report earnings of $0.64 per share, which would represent no growth from the year-ago period. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $10.85 billion, up 3.39% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.60 per share and revenue of $44.82 billion, which would represent changes of +4.84% and +4.21%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% lower within the past month. Coca-Cola is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, Coca-Cola is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 23.33. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.33.
We can also see that KO currently has a PEG ratio of 3.51. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Beverages - Soft drinks industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.95 as of yesterday's close.
The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, putting it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
CocaCola Company (The) (KO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
