Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) shares 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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Coca-Cola Consolidated Trading Up 1.9%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.64.

Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Coca-Cola Consolidated had a return on equity of 42.08% and a net margin of 7.89%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Coca-Cola Consolidated’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola Consolidated

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

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.