Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.12.

SBUX has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.8%

SBUX opened at $88.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $85.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.10. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $75.50 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm has a market cap of $101.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 151.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 270.3% in the second quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.