Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.42.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Starbucks from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $92.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.96. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $107.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.90.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,682.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,790 shares of company stock worth $865,514. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,240,652,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth about $243,910,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.