Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $52.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.82, but opened at $47.61. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Molson Coors Beverage shares last traded at $48.3020, with a volume of 1,702,446 shares trading hands.

TAP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore cut their price objective on Molson Coors Beverage from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Molson Coors Beverage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm set a $58.00 price target on Molson Coors Beverage in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.24.

Key Headlines Impacting Molson Coors Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Molson Coors Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS topped consensus ($1.21 vs. $1.17), giving the quarter a faint upside despite weaker top‑line performance. Molson Coors Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, 2026 View Soft
• Positive Sentiment: The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.48 (a ~2.1% increase), supporting income investors and yielding roughly 3.9%. (Ex‑dividend March 6.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts trimmed price targets (Needham and Wells Fargo cut targets to $52) but Needham kept a “buy” rating and the revised targets still imply upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference — useful for detail on strategy and cost actions but not a catalyst on its own. CAGNY Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance came in well below Street expectations: EPS guidance of roughly 4.61–4.82 vs. consensus near 5.42, and revenue guidance slightly under consensus — signaling flat sales and double‑digit profit declines next year. Press Release / Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Company warned that higher aluminum costs (tariffs/inputs) and softer, price‑sensitive consumer demand will meaningfully pressure 2026 profits — a key driver of the negative market reaction. Molson Coors forecasts sharp drop in 2026 profit as aluminum costs bite

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAP. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 952.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 558 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.45 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.87.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. Molson Coors Beverage had a positive return on equity of 8.67% and a negative net margin of 16.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Molson Coors Beverage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.607-4.823 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Molson Coors Beverage Company will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Molson Coors Beverage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Molson Coors Beverage’s payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company is a leading multinational brewing and beverage enterprise formed through the 2005 merger of Canada’s Molson and the United States’ Coors. The company develops, markets and distributes an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, focusing primarily on beer and ready-to-drink products. Its portfolio spans flagship brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Miller Lite, alongside craft-style offerings like Blue Moon and global imports including Carling and Staropramen.

In addition to its core beer business, Molson Coors has expanded into adjacent categories to capture evolving consumer tastes.