Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (NASDAQ:CCEP) Short Interest Up 14.7% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 14.7% in April to 6,556,772 shares (about 1.5% of shares sold short), implying a days-to-cover of roughly 3.7 based on average daily volume.
• Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $106, and large investors (Invesco, Vanguard, Boston Partners, etc.) have recently increased holdings while institutions own about 31.35% of the stock.
• The company declared a $0.82 per-share dividend (ex-dividend date May 15, payable May 27), and the stock recently traded around $94.57 within a 52-week range of $84.65–$110.90.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (NASDAQ:CCEP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,556,772 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the March 31st total of 5,715,838 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,762,173 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 31.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,610,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,411,334,000 after acquiring an additional 3,751,430 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,960,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $994,598,000 after acquiring an additional 278,083 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 2.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,266,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,051,000 after buying an additional 156,613 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,873,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $532,765,000 after buying an additional 38,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,760,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,360,000 after buying an additional 31,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $102.00) on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $98.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.00.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Stock Performance

CCEP opened at $94.57 on Friday. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has a 52-week low of $84.65 and a 52-week high of $110.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.80.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 197.0%.

About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is a major independent bottler and distributor of nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages, operating under a long-standing franchise relationship with The Coca-Cola Company. The business manufactures, bottles, sells and delivers a broad portfolio of global and local beverage brands, including still and sparkling soft drinks, waters, juices, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Its activities encompass production, packaging, marketing and route-to-market distribution for retail, foodservice, convenience and vending customers.

The company was created through the combination of Coca-Cola European Partners and Coca-Cola Amatil in 2021, bringing together beverage operations across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

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