Coca-Cola (KO) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know

In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $82.63, marking a +2.75% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.05%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.09%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.24%. Shares of the world's largest beverage maker witnessed a gain of 0.01% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 0.16%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.42%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Coca-Cola in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.92, signifying a 5.75% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $13.05 billion, reflecting a 4.15% rise from the equivalent quarter last year. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.26 per share and revenue of $49.33 billion, which would represent changes of +8.67% and +2.99%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook. Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.03% higher. At present, Coca-Cola boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Coca-Cola has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.66 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 19.36. Also, we should mention that KO has a PEG ratio of 3.21. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Beverages - Soft drinks industry stood at 2.15 at the close of the market yesterday. The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 61, positioning it in the top 25% 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. Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks