Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $73.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $69.61 and last traded at $69.08. Approximately 7,274,434 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 16,119,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.33. The company has a market cap of $296.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

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.