Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SBUX. Barclays decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Starbucks to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.44.

Starbucks Trading Up 3.3%

SBUX opened at $85.35 on Friday. Starbucks has a 1-year low of $75.50 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.05 billion, a PE ratio of 52.04, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.63.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.41 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 4.99%.Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 151.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 11,700 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,513,160. The trade was a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $286,000. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in Starbucks by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 32,738 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 9,282 shares during the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,435,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $653,000. Finally, Pegasus Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $1,289,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently 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.