The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Up 9.2% in November

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,660,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the October 31st total of 30,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.14.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

KO opened at $63.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.61. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $57.47 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.