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Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Moves -0.57%: What You Should Know

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Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) closed at $62.75 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.57% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.11%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.85%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.1%.

Heading into today, shares of the world's largest beverage maker had gained 3.95% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 3.25% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.19% in that time.

Coca-Cola will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Coca-Cola is projected to report earnings of $0.45 per share, which would represent no growth from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $9.95 billion, up 5.1% from the prior-year quarter.

KO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.48 per share and revenue of $42.8 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +6.9% and +10.72%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

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 a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Coca-Cola's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 25.44. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 25.44.

Also, we should mention that KO has a PEG ratio of 4.17. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Beverages - Soft drinks was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.09 at yesterday's closing price.

The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, putting it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

To follow KO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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