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Starbucks (SBUX) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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Starbucks (SBUX - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $87.44, indicating a -0.6% change from the previous session's end. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.73%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.98%.

The the stock of coffee chain has fallen by 14.18% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.34%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Starbucks in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.66, marking a 26.67% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.33 billion, down 1% from the year-ago period.

SBUX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.11 per share and revenue of $37.33 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -6.04% and +3.18%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Starbucks. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.25% lower. Starbucks presently features a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Starbucks has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.28 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 24.91, which means Starbucks is trading at a premium to the group.

One should further note that SBUX currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.58. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Restaurants industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.28.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 131, putting it in the bottom 48% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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