Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) and Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) Critical Survey

Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) and Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Coca-Cola Consolidated and Vita Coco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coca-Cola Consolidated	0	0	0	0	0.00
Vita Coco	0	3	5	0	2.63

Vita Coco has a consensus price target of $38.3750, suggesting a potential upside of 4.48%. Given Vita Coco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vita Coco is more favorable than Coca-Cola Consolidated.

Risk and Volatility

Coca-Cola Consolidated has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vita Coco has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Coca-Cola Consolidated and Vita Coco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coca-Cola Consolidated	8.43%	44.91%	12.16%
Vita Coco	11.50%	24.99%	17.84%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Coca-Cola Consolidated and Vita Coco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coca-Cola Consolidated	$6.90 billion	1.50	$633.12 million	$6.70	17.80
Vita Coco	$516.01 million	4.04	$55.95 million	$1.07	34.33

Coca-Cola Consolidated has higher revenue and earnings than Vita Coco. Coca-Cola Consolidated is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vita Coco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

48.2% of Coca-Cola Consolidated shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Vita Coco shares are held by institutional investors. 32.3% of Vita Coco shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Vita Coco beats Coca-Cola Consolidated on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coca-Cola Consolidated

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes nonalcoholic beverages primarily products of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States. The company offers sparkling beverages; and still beverages, including energy products, as well as noncarbonated beverages comprising bottled water, ready to drink coffee and tea, enhanced water, juices, and sports drinks. It also sells its products to other Coca-Cola bottlers; and post-mix products that are dispensed through equipment, which mixes the fountain syrups with carbonated or still water enabling fountain retailers to sell finished products to consumers in cups or glasses. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes various other beverage brands that include Dr Pepper and Monster Energy. It sells and distributes its products directly to grocery stores, mass merchandise stores, club stores, convenience stores, and drug stores; and restaurants, schools, amusement parks, and recreational facilities, as well as through vending machine outlets. The company was formerly known as Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated and changed its name to Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. in January 2019. Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About Vita Coco

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers coconut oil and coconut milk; juice; Runa, a plant-based energy drink; packaged water under the Ever & Ever brand name; and PWR LIFT, a protein-infused fitness drink. It also provides private label coconut water and oil to retailers. It distributes its products through club, food, drug, mass, convenience, e-commerce, and foodservice channels. The company was formerly known as All Market Inc. and changed its name to The Vita Coco Company, Inc. in September 2021.The Vita Coco Company, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in New York, New York.