The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,920,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 34,770,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.40. The company has a market cap of $270.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

About Coca-Cola

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.