Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Cut to “Neutral” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $85.00 price target on the coffee company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $103.00.

SBUX has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays cut their price target on Starbucks from $124.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.15.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $96.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.38. Starbucks has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 78.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,881,000 after buying an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,497,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.