Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $110.57 and last traded at $110.4240, with a volume of 52,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.70.

More Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales rose 7.7% in fiscal Q4, driven by stronger customer traffic and average tickets—evidence of improving business momentum. Starbucks’ U.S. Comps Jump 7.7%: Can Traffic Momentum Last?
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS raised its price target from $105 to $110, implying 4.4% upside from the cited price, but maintained a “neutral” rating—suggesting measured rather than strong conviction. UBS Group stock recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may question the durability of the sales rebound: transaction growth is slowing, and store closures contributed to the comparison, potentially making the reported improvement harder to sustain. Starbucks’ U.S. Comps Jump 7.7%: Can Traffic Momentum Last?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Starbucks from $124.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.89.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $120.17 billion, a PE ratio of 47.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.05.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. Starbucks had a net margin of 6.66% and a negative return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 112.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,920 shares in the company, valued at $7,092,000. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,458 shares of company stock worth $449,684. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $8,504,509,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Starbucks by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,268 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,033,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,497 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Starbucks by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,761,355 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,412,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,085 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,779,234 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,200,737,000 after acquiring an additional 193,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,506,482 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $869,277,000 after buying an additional 1,767,530 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffee company that roasts, markets and sells coffee and other beverages, along with food and related merchandise. Its offerings include brewed coffee, espresso-based drinks, teas and packaged coffee products.

The company serves customers through company-operated and licensed stores, as well as through retail and food-service partnerships. Its stores also sell items such as mugs and coffee-making equipment.

Founded in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks operates in North America and international markets, including China.