Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $95.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the coffee company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.96.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.1%

Starbucks stock opened at $94.32 on Wednesday. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $107.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 112,059,570 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 953,361 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,011,796,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,292,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348,790 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,826,001 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,259,516,000 after acquiring an additional 548,245 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Starbucks by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,904,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545,655 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.