Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 499,503 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,044,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,504,509,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,581,287,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,232,650,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,447,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,637,704,000 after buying an additional 7,725,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $779,790,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $107.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.64, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.73.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.19. Starbucks had a net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. The firm had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 142.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank cut shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.30.

Starbucks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Robert W. Baird upgraded Starbucks to “strong buy,” signaling confidence in the company’s turnaround prospects and potentially supporting investor sentiment. Zacks report
• Positive Sentiment: Fall menu and marketing: Starbucks launched its seasonal menu, including the Pumpkin Spice Latte, supported by advertising featuring Martha Stewart. The promotion could drive customer traffic and strengthen seasonal sales. Starbucks launches fall menu Pumpkin Spice Latte advertising
• Positive Sentiment: Property transactions: A corporate Starbucks drive-thru in Jacksonville, Florida, was included in a $6.9 million pair of net-lease deals. While not a material financial event for Starbucks, the transaction highlights ongoing investor demand for Starbucks-occupied properties. Starbucks net-lease transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and operating backdrop: Starbucks recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but revenue declined year over year. With a relatively high earnings multiple, investors may require sustained improvement from the company’s turnaround plan.
• Negative Sentiment: Union-led boycott: Starbucks Workers United called for a boycott tied to stalled contract negotiations, seeking $17 hourly wages and a contract covering more than 12,000 baristas. The action presents near-term traffic, sales and reputational risks. Starbucks union boycott
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer caution: Reports questioning whether consumers are rethinking coffee purchases raise concerns about traffic and demand, particularly if customers trade down or reduce premium beverage spending. Consumer caution report
• Negative Sentiment: Turnaround costs: Additional job cuts as Starbucks expands its roughly $2 billion overhaul may pressure near-term morale and execution, even though management expects restructuring to improve efficiency over time. Starbucks job cuts and turnaround

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total transaction of $236,251.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,963,558.65. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,687 shares of company stock valued at $681,663 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.