Coca-Cola (KO) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

In the latest trading session, Coca-Cola (KO) closed at $54.91, marking a +0.73% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.04%.

Heading into today, shares of the world's largest beverage maker had gained 2.62% over the past month, lagging the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 3.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.83% in that time.

On that day, KO is projected to report earnings of $0.55 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 30.95%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.4 billion, up 31.53% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.18 per share and revenue of $37.03 billion, which would represent changes of +11.79% and +12.15%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for KO. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.85% higher within the past month. KO currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that KO has a Forward P/E ratio of 25.02 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 24.06, which means KO is trading at a premium to the group.

Investors should also note that KO has a PEG ratio of 3.29 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Beverages - Soft drinks industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.62 as of yesterday's close.

The Beverages - Soft drinks industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 127, putting it in the top 50% of all 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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