Starbucks’ (SBUX) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reiterated their buy rating on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $105.00 target price on the coffee company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on SBUX. Dbs Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna set a $114.00 price objective on Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Starbucks from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.04.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $93.88 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.17. 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 $106.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.62 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 28.66%. Starbucks’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Anchyra Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Retirement Solution LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 574.1% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 21,334 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 92,745 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,810,000 after buying an additional 8,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 sales and traffic improvement — Starbucks reported a revenue beat ($9.92B) and its first U.S. transaction growth in two years, supporting the turnaround narrative and earlier stock strength. Starbucks Gets a Jolt After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Investor Day strategic initiatives — management showcased redesigned cafes, a long-term growth roadmap, AI-powered personalization and plans to convert momentum into sustainable growth; these are constructive for longer-term same-store-sales and margins if execution holds. Starbucks shows off redesigned cafes at 2026 investor day
• Positive Sentiment: Rewards relaunch to drive frequency — Starbucks will reintroduce a tiered Starbucks Rewards (Green/Gold/Reserve) on March 10 to encourage more visits and higher spend from its large U.S. member base. This is a direct demand-side lever. Starbucks Unveils Reimagined Loyalty Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views mixed — some firms reaffirm buy/raise price targets (e.g., $105), while others remain cautious or maintain hold ratings; consensus remains split on how fast margins recover. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion plans vs. execution risk — management plans hundreds of new U.S. stores and added seating, which can drive growth but requires execution (and may pressure near-term capex). Starbucks sees room to expand
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability strain and guidance — EPS missed estimates ( $0.56 vs. ~$0.59) and full‑year EPS guidance (2.15–2.40) sits near or slightly below consensus, signaling margins remain pressured even as sales recover. Earnings and Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation risk and governance optics — investor‑rights firms (Halper Sadeh and others) announced probes into directors/officers, and the company loosened the cap on CEO private jet use; both increase headline risk and can weigh on sentiment. Halper Sadeh Investigation Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Questions on store-level health — critical commentary argues new openings won’t offset traffic declines at many legacy U.S. locations, highlighting execution and comp-risk that could undermine growth assumptions. Starbucks Comp Sales: Why New Stores Don’t Matter

Starbucks Company Profile

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.