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Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) closed at $60.47, marking a -0.05% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.38% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.11%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.54%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest beverage maker had lost 2.06% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 3.46% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 1.68% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Coca-Cola as it approaches its next earnings report date. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $11.48 billion, up 3.78% from the year-ago period.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Coca-Cola is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Coca-Cola's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 22.97. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.1.

Meanwhile, KO's PEG ratio is currently 3.55. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Beverages - Soft drinks was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.51 at yesterday's closing price.

The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 42, which puts it in the top 17% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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.


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