Coca-Cola’s (NYSE: KO) middling earnings report, published early on February 10, and the subsequent KO stock single-session drop of 1.90% appear to have hardly put a dent in Wall Street analyst bullishness regarding the beverage giant.
Specifically, every single one of the seven rating revisions assigned following Coca-Cola’s earnings release positions the equity as a ‘Buy’ and sets the expectation that KO shares will rally at least somewhat in the next 12 months.
While most of the notes were simple reiterations of previous forecasts, several stood out for changing the price target.
Wall Street updates KO stock 12-month price target
To begin with, Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) Dara Mohsenian upgraded his KO stock forecast from $81 to $87, meaning he now expects a 13.27% rally from the latest closing price of $76.81.
Filipo Falorni from Citi (NYSE: C) opted for the exact same Coca-Cola stock price target when he made his revision on February 11. Indeed, the analyst moved his 12-month forecast from $75 to $87 – a 16% upward revision.
Lastly, TD Cowen’s Robert Moscow was only slightly less optimistic when changing his KO shares price target from $80 to $85.
Zooming out, it is evident that Wall Street is overall positive toward Coca-Cola, given its stock is rated as a ‘Strong Buy’ on average and boasts a $82.27 price target, meaning the blue-chip beverage giant is expected to rally a respectable 7% in the coming 12 months.
Coca-Cola water, sports, coffee, and tea outperform Coke itself in Q4
As for Coca-Cola’s actual results in the fourth quarter (Q4), the company beat the earnings per share (EPS) forecast by achieving $0.58 instead of $0.56. It did, however, record a notable $210 million revenue miss, as it reported $11.82 billion, and not the expected $12.03 billion.
Looking forward, Coca-Cola expects revenue growth between 4% and 5% in the coming year, but the firm also noted that demand for its soft drink has decreased due to the much-discussed consumer purchasing power squeeze.
The silver lining in terms of demand came from the company’s other divisions – water, sports, coffee, and tea, to be precise – which substantially outperformed the rest of the corporation’s portfolio.
Lastly, KO stock investors should mark February 17 in their calendars as the beverage giant is expected to reveal more about its future on the day. The announcement could prove especially weighty since Coca-Cola is undergoing a CEO transition in the ongoing quarter.
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