The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,590,000 shares, a decrease of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 33,490,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 17,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.99. The company had a trading volume of 15,565,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,839,197. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.36. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $297.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. Equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.