Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), will close its cafes across the U.S. and Canada and reduce its services to drive-through only delivery of its products for at least two weeks as the coronavirus outbreak escalates.
U.S. store partners will be paid for the next 30 days even if employees choose to stay at home, the coffeemaker said in a company blog. In addition, Starbucks will continue to offer mental health and sick pay benefits, childcare support, and more.
The coffee giant’s shares have almost halved from their 52-week high in July last year and are trading at $58.03 a share (See Starbucks stock analysis on TipRanks).
Analysts are divided on the stock, with 10 Buys and 10 Holds assigned in the last three months. They forecast an average price target of $89.88 per share, reflecting a potential yield of 55% in the next 12 months.
“We’ve all recognized over the last week the challenges and complexities of trying to reduce ‘social gathering’ in our cafes even as we removed furniture and reduced our services, to grab-and-go,” said Rossann Williams, an executive vice president at Starbucks.
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