Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell by 18.2% to 1,453,596 shares as of March 13, representing about 2.2% of the stock and a short-interest ratio (days to cover) of 3.2.
• Institutional investors own 48.24% of the company, and Weiss Ratings reissued a Buy rating; MarketBeat's average rating for the stock is also Buy.
• The stock traded near $182.20 mid-day with a market cap of $12.13B and a P/E of 26.73; the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.11 on $1.90B in revenue and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00, yield 0.5%).

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Approximately 2.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 461,383 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola Consolidated

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 16.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 909 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola Consolidated by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 48.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola Consolidated presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Coca-Cola Consolidated Stock Performance

Coca-Cola Consolidated stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $182.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,668. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Coca-Cola Consolidated has a twelve month low of $105.21 and a twelve month high of $219.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.83. The firm has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Consolidated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Coca-Cola Consolidated's payout ratio is presently 14.66%.

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.

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