[Reuters – UK Focus] – South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Tuesday conditionally approved a SABMiller (Amsterdam: MI8.AS – news) and Coca-Cola deal to combine their African soft drink operations into what would be the continent’s biggest Coke drinks bottler. In a bid to fast-track the antitrust probe, SABMiller (Xetra: BRW1.DE – news) and Coca-Cola struck a deal with the South African government earlier this month that included an 800 million rand ($53 million) investment to support small businesses and a three-year freeze on layoffs. The Competition Tribunal said the deal can go ahead subject to several conditions. Read more on this. The Coca-Cola Company (KO) , valued at $197.49B, opened this morning at $45.44. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $45.42 to $45.84 with a trailing 52-week range being $36.56 to $47.13. KO shares are currently priced at 23.32x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 20.11x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $1.40 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 3.09%. According to a consensus of 19 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.59 per share would be $0.04 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $1.94 is a $0.06 worse when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $11.76 Billion. If reported, that would be a 3.21% decrease over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Societe Generale upgraded KO from Sell to Hold (Feb 10, 2016). Previously, Stifel upgraded KO from Hold to Buy. The average price target for KO shares by the analysts covering the stock is $48.29, which is 6.27% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:KO) Similar Articles: Market Update (NYSE:KO): UPDATE 1-SABMiller, Coke agree concessions with South Africa over bottling merger Market Update (NYSE:KO): Coca-Cola Sings a Different Tune with the Pitch-Perfect Return of “Share a Coke®…and a Song” Company Update: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) – Diet Coke® Delights Fans Nationwide with Millions of Unique, Colorful Package Designs