Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 price target on Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.04.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.74. 7,703,599 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,478,883. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.12. The firm has a market cap of $106.59 billion, a PE ratio of 57.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a 1-year low of $75.50 and a 1-year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 11,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Starbucks by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,410,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,634,523,000 after acquiring an additional 971,773 shares in the last quarter. Coquina Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $619,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Starbucks by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 89,124 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after buying an additional 10,384 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and traffic momentum — Starbucks reported revenue of $9.92B and its first U.S. comparable-transaction growth in two years, signaling the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround is gaining traction; that beat helped lift the stock after the print. Starbucks Gets a Jolt After Earnings, But Will the Buzz Last?
• Positive Sentiment: New loyalty program — Starbucks unveiled a tiered Starbucks Rewards rollout (Green/Gold/Reserve) to launch March 10, intended to drive frequency and personalization — a structural revenue-growth lever. Starbucks Unveils Reimagined Loyalty Program
• Positive Sentiment: Investor Day execution — management (COO Mike Grams, CEO Brian Niccol) presented store redesigns and digital/operational changes aimed at sustaining traffic and ticket gains, reinforcing the narrative that the turnaround is progressing. Starbucks says it has cracked its comeback
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed — some firms (BTIG) reiterated bullish targets while others (UBS, Zacks) are cautious or neutral, reflecting debate over whether upside in comps will translate to margin/cash?flow recovery. BTIG reaffirmed buy / price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer demand comment — CEO Niccol said observed in-store behavior (across cohorts) looks stronger than headline consumer-confidence metrics, which supports the case for continued traffic resilience. Starbucks CEO: Consumer confidence isn’t matching the behavior we’re seeing
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss & margin pressure — EPS of $0.56 missed estimates and management flagged continued margin headwinds (higher input/labor costs), which tempers enthusiasm despite revenue gains and keeps near-term profitability uncertain. Starbucks (SBUX) Misses Q1 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Governance & legal distractions — shareholder counsel has opened an investigation into directors and a securities class action exists; separately, lifting the cap on CEO private-jet use drew negative headlines — both increase reputational/governance risk. Johnson Fistel legal investigation Starbucks removes cap on CEO’s jet use

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.