Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $53.45, but opened at $57.23. Molson Coors Beverage shares last traded at $56.00, with a volume of 1,714,902 shares.

The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.13. Molson Coors Beverage had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 9.24%.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Molson Coors Beverage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Molson Coors Beverage’s payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TAP. Hsbc Global Res lowered Molson Coors Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Molson Coors Beverage from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upgraded Molson Coors Beverage from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Molson Coors Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molson Coors Beverage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new position in Molson Coors Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $378,000. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP grew its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 10,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Molson Coors Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,913,000. Randolph Co Inc lifted its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Randolph Co Inc now owns 477,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,352,000 after buying an additional 98,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 195.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 13,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.50 and a 200-day moving average of $56.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Molson Coors Beverage Company Profile

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages.