Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $104.00 to $107.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the coffee company’s stock. Citigroup‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SBUX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Starbucks from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.79.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $104.58. 4,366,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,126,771. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.70. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $77.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.51. The company has a market capitalization of $119.22 billion, a PE ratio of 47.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 6.66%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.60, for a total transaction of $235,382.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 73,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,724,534.40. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,687 shares of company stock worth $685,935. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,473 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 424 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 7.8% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,396 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 10,039 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 6,216 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is a global specialty coffee company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1971, the company operates and licenses coffeehouses under the Starbucks brand, serving brewed coffee, espresso beverages, teas, cold drinks, food, and other ready-to-consume products.

In addition to its company-operated and licensed stores, Starbucks sells packaged coffee, tea, and single-serve products through grocery retailers, convenience stores, and other distribution channels.