Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $95.00 price target on the coffee company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.02% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SBUX. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.72.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of SBUX opened at $85.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.50. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,379,619,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,244,812,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Starbucks by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,011,796,000 after purchasing an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at about $817,759,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348,790 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Company Profile

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.