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Coca-Cola (KO) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market: Important Facts to Note

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The latest trading session saw Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) ending at $60.15, denoting a -0.87% adjustment from its last day's close. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.72%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.95%.

Shares of the world's largest beverage maker witnessed a gain of 1.45% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its gain of 2.24% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.16%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Coca-Cola in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on April 30, 2024. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.70, indicating a 2.94% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $10.98 billion, showing a 0.01% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $2.81 per share and revenue of $45.83 billion, indicating changes of +4.46% and +0.16%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher. Right now, Coca-Cola possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Coca-Cola is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 21.57. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 21.21, so one might conclude that Coca-Cola is trading at a premium comparatively.

It's also important to note that KO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.44. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. Beverages - Soft drinks stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.3 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 65, which puts it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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