Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, soft-drink king Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) has earned a respected four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly; conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Coca-Cola's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Coca-Cola facts
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Headquarters (Founded)
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Atlanta, Georgia (1886)
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Market Cap
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$105.8 billion
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Industry
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Soft Drinks
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TTM Revenue
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$31.5 billion
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Management
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CEO Muhtar Kent (since July 2008)
CFO Gary Fayard (since December 1999)
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Return on Capital (average last three years)
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17.6%
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Dividend Yield
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3.3%
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Competitors
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PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) ,
Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS )
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CAPS members bullish on KO also bullish on
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Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) ,
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG )
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CAPS members bearish on KO also bearish on
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Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) ,
General Motors (NYSE: GM )
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Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.
Over on CAPS, fully 1,090 of 1,143 of the All-Star members who have rated Coca-Cola -- some 95% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include angreemunkee and iamnik77, both of whom are ranked in the top 6% of our community.
Last week, angreemunkee had this to say of Coca-Cola: "Strong brands, good balance sheet. Earnings may not be as big as they were last year for consumer products, but I expect some resistance to recessionary pressures for Coke. Grab it at a multi-year low."
A pitch one day later from iamnik77 follows that line of thinking, expanding on the stock's defensive qualities:
Wow. I never thought I would pick one of the world's most boring stocks. But the price looks good and the yield is about 3%. Plus it doesn't have any debt issues. I think the incredible amount of fear in the market combined with the safety of KO pushed me over the edge when it came to making it one of my picks. I don't think it will double but it will moderately outperform the market over the next couple of years.
What do you think about Coca-Cola, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 115,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.
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