Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,330,000 shares, a growth of 1,475.8% from the April 30th total of 84,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 599,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola Consolidated

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 265,541.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 502,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,784,000 after acquiring an additional 501,873 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 197,133.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 453,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $571,578,000 after acquiring an additional 453,407 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,418,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 175,140.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 182,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,038,000 after acquiring an additional 182,146 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 676.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 200,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,711,000 after acquiring an additional 174,709 shares during the period. 48.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ COKE traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.38. The company had a trading volume of 721,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,801. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.75 and a 200 day moving average of $136.94. Coca-Cola Consolidated has a 1-year low of $96.37 and a 1-year high of $146.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89.

Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Coca-Cola Consolidated had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 49.88%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Coca-Cola Consolidated's payout ratio is 15.61%.

Coca-Cola Consolidated Company Profile

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes nonalcoholic beverages primarily products of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States. The company offers sparkling beverages; and still beverages, including energy products, as well as noncarbonated beverages comprising bottled water, ready to drink coffee and tea, enhanced water, juices, and sports drinks.