Short Interest in Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) Drops By 18.2%

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,453,596 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the February 26th total of 1,776,179 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 461,383 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Price Performance

Shares of COKE traded up $8.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $200.01. 260,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 488,805. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.76. Coca-Cola Consolidated has a fifty-two week low of $105.21 and a fifty-two week high of $219.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter. Coca-Cola Consolidated had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 66.42%.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Coca-Cola Consolidated’s payout ratio is currently 14.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola Consolidated

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COKE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 6.4% during 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 in the second quarter valued at $280,669,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 169,555 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $312,285,000 after purchasing an additional 603,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 836.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,729,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,050,000 after buying an additional 1,544,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.24% of the company’s stock.

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.