Coca-Cola (KO) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $71.85, marking a +1% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.16%.Coming into today, shares of the world's largest beverage maker had gained 3.58% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 4.87%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.48%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Coca-Cola in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.75, up 1.35% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $11.65 billion, showing a 2.56% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.KO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.85 per share and revenue of $46.03 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.95% and +0.61%, respectively.Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Coca-Cola. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher. Coca-Cola is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Looking at its valuation, Coca-Cola is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 24.97. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.3.It's also important to note that KO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.94. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Beverages - Soft drinks industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.92.The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 205, placing it within the bottom 19% of over 250 industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.7% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks