Reviewing Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) & Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP)

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) and Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Keurig Dr Pepper and Coca-Cola Consolidated”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Keurig Dr Pepper	$15.35 billion	2.48	$1.44 billion	$1.16	24.18
Coca-Cola Consolidated	$6.90 billion	2.03	$633.12 million	$7.02	23.31

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Keurig Dr Pepper and Coca-Cola Consolidated, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Keurig Dr Pepper	2	8	10	0	2.40
Coca-Cola Consolidated	0	0	1	0	3.00

Keurig Dr Pepper currently has a consensus price target of $34.87, suggesting a potential upside of 24.30%. Given Keurig Dr Pepper’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Keurig Dr Pepper is more favorable than Coca-Cola Consolidated.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.0% of Keurig Dr Pepper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Coca-Cola Consolidated shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Keurig Dr Pepper shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Keurig Dr Pepper and Coca-Cola Consolidated’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Keurig Dr Pepper	9.78%	11.19%	5.13%
Coca-Cola Consolidated	8.66%	43.17%	12.17%

Dividends

Keurig Dr Pepper pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Coca-Cola Consolidated pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Keurig Dr Pepper pays out 79.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Coca-Cola Consolidated pays out 14.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Keurig Dr Pepper has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Coca-Cola Consolidated has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Keurig Dr Pepper is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Keurig Dr Pepper has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coca-Cola Consolidated has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Keurig Dr Pepper beats Coca-Cola Consolidated on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. owns, manufactures, and distributors beverages and single serve brewing systems in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Refreshment Beverages, U.S. Coffee, and International. The U.S. Refreshment Beverages segment manufactures and distributes branded concentrates, syrup, and finished beverages. Its U.S. Coffee segment offers finished goods relating to K-Cup pods, single serve brewers, specialty coffee, and ready to drink coffee products through Keurig.com website. The International segment provides sales in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and other international markets from the manufacture and distribution of branded concentrates, syrup, and finished beverages; and sales in Canada from the manufacture and distribution of finished goods relating to the Company's single serve brewers, KCup pods, and other coffee products. It serves retailers, third-party bottlers and distributors, retail partners, hotel chains, office coffee distributors, and end-use consumers. The company offers its products under the Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Snapple, Mott's, The Original Donut Shop, Clamato, and Core Hydration brand name. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.

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.