As of this writing, shares of quintessential beverage enterprise Coca-Cola (KO) are trading at almost $59 per share. However, according to TheFly, Citi analyst Filippo Falorni says Coca-Cola stock is headed to $67 per share, a jump of about 13%.
With a 13% jump in stock price and a dividend that pays about a 3% yield, investors could be looking at market-beating returns for Coca-Cola stock if Falorni is right. So, should investors buy the stock now? Well, there's something investors should be aware of first.
Buy Coca-Cola stock for good reasons
Falorni raised his price target for Coca-Cola stock on Dec. 13. But according to TipRanks, this is the fifth time he's given a price target this year alone. Previous price targets were $68, $71, $74, and $65.
In short, Falorni customarily changes his price targets for Coca-Cola stock, even though the business doesn't fundamentally change anywhere near as often.
Don't misunderstand: I'm not singling out Falorni in the least. But investors need to understand that Wall Street incessantly upgrades and downgrades its outlooks on stocks. Therefore, constantly reacting to the changes would be counterproductive for investors. Rather, investors should build investment theses around fundamentals for the business, not an analyst's opinion on the future stock price.
For Coca-Cola, it's one of the best examples of having a competitive advantage due to its scale, giving it stability year in and year out. The company also is enjoying double-digit organic growth in 2023, which management believes will carry into next year. Management believes it has opportunities to increase profits, too.
These are the kinds of things that can lead to a higher price per share for Coca-Cola in the future. Investors should keep their perspectives grounded in fundamental things like those mentioned above rather than get derailed by the constantly changing opinions on Wall Street.
