Starbucks’ (SBUX) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $115.00 target price on the coffee company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group lifted their target price on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $98.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $112.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.