The stock of Coca-Cola Consolidated (NAS:COKE, 30-year Financials) appears to be significantly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $387.3 per share and the market cap of $3.6 billion, Coca-Cola Consolidated stock shows every sign of being significantly overvalued. GF Value for Coca-Cola Consolidated is shown in the chart below.
Because Coca-Cola Consolidated is significantly overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be much lower than its future business growth, which averaged 12.8% over the past five years.
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Companies with poor financial strength offer investors a high risk of permanent capital loss. To avoid permanent capital loss, an investor must do their research and review a company’s financial strength before deciding to purchase shares. Both the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage of a company are a great way to to understand its financial strength. Coca-Cola Consolidated has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.05, which which ranks in the bottom 10% of the companies in the industry of Beverages - Non-Alcoholic. The overall financial strength of Coca-Cola Consolidated is 5 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Coca-Cola Consolidated is fair. This is the debt and cash of Coca-Cola Consolidated over the past years:
It poses less risk to invest in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. Coca-Cola Consolidated has been profitable 9 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $5.1 billion and earnings of $22.42 a share. Its operating margin is 7.34%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Beverages - Non-Alcoholic. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Coca-Cola Consolidated at 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Coca-Cola Consolidated over the past years:
Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company’s stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of Coca-Cola Consolidated is 12.8%, which ranks better than 82% of the companies in the industry of Beverages - Non-Alcoholic. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 27.1%, which ranks better than 85% of the companies in the industry of Beverages - Non-Alcoholic.
Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital to the weighted average cost of capital. Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, Coca-Cola Consolidated’s return on invested capital is 10.60, and its cost of capital is 6.64. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Coca-Cola Consolidated is shown below:
In short, Coca-Cola Consolidated (NAS:COKE, 30-year Financials) stock is believed to be significantly overvalued. The company's financial condition is fair and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks better than 85% of the companies in the industry of Beverages - Non-Alcoholic. To learn more about Coca-Cola Consolidated stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here.
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