Coca-Cola (KO) Increases Yet Falls Behind Market: What Investors Need to Know

In this article:

Coca-Cola (KO) closed the most recent trading day at $69.57, moving +0.46% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.61%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.97%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.33%.

The the stock of world's largest beverage maker has fallen by 2.78% in the past month, leading the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 3.48% and undershooting the S&P 500's gain of 5.36%.

The upcoming earnings release of Coca-Cola will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on October 23, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.74, reflecting no change from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $11.63 billion, down 2.67% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.85 per share and a revenue of $46.03 billion, representing changes of +5.95% and +0.61%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.07% lower. At present, Coca-Cola boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Coca-Cola is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.32. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.29, so one might conclude that Coca-Cola is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, KO's PEG ratio is currently 3.9. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Beverages - Soft drinks industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.99.

The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 181, this industry ranks in the bottom 29% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow KO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize 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

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

Advertisement