The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Update

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,920,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 34,770,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $62.76 on Monday. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.