Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $52.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.82, but opened at $47.61. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Molson Coors Beverage shares last traded at $48.3020, with a volume of 1,702,446 shares traded.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Molson Coors Beverage from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Molson Coors Beverage from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Molson Coors Beverage

Here are the key news stories impacting Molson Coors Beverage this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat expectations — Molson Coors reported $1.21 EPS vs. the $1.17 consensus, showing better-than-expected profitability for the quarter. Zacks: TAP surpasses Q4 earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 (ex-dividend Mar. 6), up ~2.1% from $0.47, implying a ~3.8% yield. This supports income-oriented investors and signals board confidence in cash flow.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support from Evercore — Evercore raised its price target and kept an Outperform rating, a bullish counterpoint to some other cautious calls. Evercore raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation at CAGNY — management presented strategy and detail on the results; useful for modeling but did not materially change guidance. CAGNY transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst write‑ups and metric reviews — outlets (Zacks) flagged the EPS beat but noted revenue and other metrics that may require closer scrutiny when modeling growth. Zacks: key metrics analysis
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance came in below Street expectations — Molson Coors guided to EPS of $4.607–$4.823 vs. the ~$5.42 consensus and revenue of $11.0–$11.3B (vs. ~$11.2B consensus), a key driver of downward re-pricing. Company press release
• Negative Sentiment: Cost headwinds — management warned higher aluminum tariffs and weaker spending among price‑sensitive consumers will materially press profits in 2026, prompting a sharp profit forecast cut. Reuters: aluminum costs bite
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst trimming — Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $54 to $52 and moved to an “equal weight” stance, reflecting the more challenged 2026 outlook. Benzinga: Wells Fargo lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Top-line softness — Q4 net sales fell ~2.7% YoY and missed some revenue estimates, underscoring demand softness highlighted by the WSJ coverage. WSJ: profit, sales fall

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molson Coors Beverage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAP. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 18,631,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,063,000 after acquiring an additional 4,235,029 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $134,289,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 265.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,922,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,085 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,516,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,886,000 after buying an additional 1,693,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 317.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,044,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,297,000 after buying an additional 1,554,851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Trading Down 4.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.87. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. Molson Coors Beverage had a positive return on equity of 8.78% and a negative net margin of 15.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Molson Coors Beverage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.607-4.823 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Molson Coors Beverage Company will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Molson Coors Beverage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Molson Coors Beverage’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company is a leading multinational brewing and beverage enterprise formed through the 2005 merger of Canada’s Molson and the United States’ Coors. The company develops, markets and distributes an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, focusing primarily on beer and ready-to-drink products. Its portfolio spans flagship brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Miller Lite, alongside craft-style offerings like Blue Moon and global imports including Carling and Staropramen.

In addition to its core beer business, Molson Coors has expanded into adjacent categories to capture evolving consumer tastes.