Short Interest in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Grows By 16.0%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,920,000 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the February 13th total of 18,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.88 on Wednesday, reaching $148.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,079,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,399,071. The company has a market capitalization of $203.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.