Despite hitting a 52-week high, Coca-Cola HBC stock still looks great value

The FTSE 100 might be on fire lately, powering above 8,150 points for the first time, but there are still plenty of value stocks about. The numbers alone tell us this. UK stocks are trading at about half the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of US firms. So the recent UK market rally could have some way to go yet. One Footsie share that I’ve had my eye on is drinks bottler Coca-Cola HBC (LSE:CCH). The share price has just reached a 12-month high of £26, but I think the stock still offers great value. Here’s why. First, a little bit of info on this Swiss-based company. It has the exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Coca-Cola products across 29 countries, ranging from Ireland and Poland to Nigeria. This provides a nice blend of established, developing, and emerging markets. If one or two nations’ economies falter, which is always a risk, there are all the others to offset such weakness. Indeed, no single country represents more than 20% of sales volume. I like this diversification. The company generally buys the bases and syrups from Coca-Cola to produce drinks like Fanta, Sprite, and Coca-Cola, then distributes the finished products. Meanwhile, the US drinks giant...

Read more