Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.44.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBUX. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised Starbucks to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $85.08 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.70. Starbucks has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.88, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,513,160. The trade was a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,596,931,000 after acquiring an additional 577,279 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Starbucks by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,229,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774,198 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,720,137 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $6,575,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,874 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,513,332 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,353,647,000 after purchasing an additional 544,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,846,634 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,357,815,000 after purchasing an additional 99,983 shares during the last quarter. 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.