The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is back where it started this month.
Despite a strong start to August, shares in the supermarket giant have slumped more than 5% since the start of this week.
Let’s take a look at what’s been moving the Coles share price.
Why is the Coles share price sinking?
There have been several catalysts that have attributed to a weaker Coles share price this week.
Most recently, the supermarket giant announced a restructuring of its refinancing package.
Coles announced that it had refinanced $1.3 billion of bank-financed debt into a 4-year Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL).
Under the new arrangement, the company’s debt will be linked to three sustainability targets.
These targets include reducing CO2 emissions, increasing the proportion of women in leadership roles and reduce waste sent to landfills.
According to Coles, the new arrangement is in line with the company’s ambition of becoming Australia’s most sustainable supermarket chain.
In addition, a strong full-year result from archrival Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) also proved a dampener for the Coles share price.
Coles has also been on the receiving end of some unfavourable broker coverage.
According to a recent note from UBS, analysts retained a sell rating on the retailer.
The broker noted that, despite delivering full-year results in line with expectations, Coles may struggle to gain market share in the future.
How did Coles perform in FY21?
Despite a sell-off this week, the Coles share price received a boost last week after reporting a solid full-year result.
Highlights from the company’s FY21 report included;
- Sales revenue increased 3.1% to $38,562 million.
- Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) up 5.4% to $3,432 million.
- Net profit after tax up 7.5% to $1,005 million (compared to consensus estimates of $998.2 million).
- Fully franked final dividend of 28 cents per share. Resulting in a record total dividend of 61 cents per share, up 6.1% from FY20.
Snapshot of the Coles share price
Overall, the Coles share price has underperformed the broader market in 2021.
Shares in the retailer are down around 2% since the start of the year.
In comparison, the broader S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen more than 13% since the start of 2021.
The post Why is the Coles (ASX:COL) share price down 5% this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
Should you invest $1,000 in Coles right now?
Before you consider Coles, you’ll want to hear this.
Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Coles wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.
*Returns as of August 16th 2021
More reading
- How does the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) earnings result compare to Coles (ASX:COL)?
- Coles (ASX:COL) share price slides amid $1.3 billion sustainability refinancing
- Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this dividend share have been named as buys
- Why the Coles (ASX:COL) share price has underperformed the ASX 200 in the last year
- How does the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) dividend compare to its sector?
Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.
from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2UTuKJC
Leave a Reply