Starbucks CEO’s Turnaround Plan Has Howard Schultz ‘Betting on Green’

Starbucks (SBUX) has been through a rough period recently, and CEO Brian Niccol plans to change that. The new CEO has impressed Starbucks’ former CEO, Howard Schultz. He praised Niccol’s turnaround plans and ability to galvanize the company’s employees, stating that he’s “betting on Green.”

Niccol has sought to return Starbucks to its former glory and he’s made several changes in this effort. These include updated uniforms for a more professional atmosphere, simplifying the menu, bringing back handwritten cup names, not charging extra for nondairy milks, and testing a new protein cold foam at select locations.

While Schultz’s praise is welcome, investors will want to see results before they get excited about SBUX stock again. After all, the company has missed earnings per share estimates in five of its last eight quarters, and has missed revenue estimates in six of its previous eight quarters.

Starbucks Analyst Coverage and Stock Movement

Recent analyst coverage of Starbucks has been mixed. Of the six analysts who weighed in on SBUX stock yesterday, four reiterated Hold ratings and two maintained Buy ratings. One positive note was Citi analyst Jon Tower increasing his price target to $95 from $84, despite being one of the analysts that kept a Hold rating.

SBUX stock was down 0.83% as of Thursday morning, but is still up 4.92% year-to-date and 18.88% over the past 12 months.

Is Starbucks Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Starbucks is Moderate Buy, based on 12 Buy and 12 Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average SBUX stock price target of $93.29, representing a potential 1.42% downside for the shares.

See more SBUX stock analyst ratings