Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $90.16 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.62% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.02%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.21%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.08%.
Shares of the world's largest beverage maker have appreciated by 3.82% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 3.24%, and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Coca-Cola in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.86, showcasing a 4.88% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $12.93 billion, up 4.17% from the year-ago period.
KO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.29 per share and revenue of $49.82 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.67% and +4.03%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.03% higher within the past month. At present, Coca-Cola boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Coca-Cola has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.83 right now. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.83 for its industry.
We can additionally observe that KO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.2. 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. Beverages - Soft drinks stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.72 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 157, positioning it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).