MISSISSAUGA, Canada – Cott posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 8th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.08), Morningstar.com reports.
The company had revenue of $609.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.37 million.
Cott had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 1.77%. Cott’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Cott updated its Q3 2018 guidance to EPS and its FY 2018 guidance to EPS.
Shares of COT stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.75. 519,841 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,351. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 210.71 and a beta of 0.81. Cott has a 12-month low of $13.99 and a 12-month high of $17.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.42.
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COT. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in shares of Cott by 852.6% during the third quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 2,987,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,850 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cott by 2,464.5% in the third quarter.
Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,237,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,045 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Cott by 14.8% in the third quarter.
Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,907,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,562,000 after purchasing an additional 889,971 shares during the last quarter. Clearfield Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cott in the second quarter worth approximately $13,708,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cott in the second quarter worth approximately $13,692,000.
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COT. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Cott in a report on Friday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Cott from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 13th.
Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Cott in a report on Thursday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Cott in a report on Tuesday, November 13th.
Finally, Citigroup set a $19.00 price target on shares of Cott and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.76.
