Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $170.29, but opened at $177.83. Coca-Cola Consolidated shares last traded at $180.8380, with a volume of 26,448 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola Consolidated presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73 and a beta of 0.64.

Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Coca-Cola Consolidated had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 66.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Coca-Cola Consolidated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COKE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,686,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,673,000 after purchasing an additional 341,374 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola Consolidated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,669,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,329,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,091,000 after buying an additional 169,555 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,037,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,285,000 after buying an additional 603,513 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 836.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,729,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,050,000 after buying an additional 1,544,516 shares during the period. 48.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Coca-Cola Consolidated

Founded in 1902 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc is the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola products in the United States. The company manufactures, sells and distributes a broad portfolio of sparkling and still beverages under exclusive agreements with The Coca-Cola Company. Its brand lineup includes Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta, as well as noncarbonated offerings such as Minute Maid juices, Gold Peak teas, Dasani water, Powerade sports drinks and vitaminwater.

Coca-Cola Consolidated’s operations span 14 states and the District of Columbia across the Southeastern, South Central and Mid-Atlantic regions.