Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Coca-Cola (KO) closed the latest trading day at $68.81, indicating a -0.2% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.01%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.46%.The world's largest beverage maker's stock has dropped by 2.32% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.69% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 3.59%.The upcoming earnings release of Coca-Cola will be of great interest to investors. On that day, Coca-Cola is projected to report earnings of $0.72 per share, which would represent no growth from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $11.15 billion, indicating a 1.28% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.96 per share and revenue of $47.98 billion. These totals would mark changes of +2.78% and +1.94%, respectively, from last year.Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Coca-Cola. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Coca-Cola is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.In terms of valuation, Coca-Cola is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.32. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.52.It's also important to note that KO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.72. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Beverages - Soft drinks industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.61.The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, which puts it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks