PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price was up 1.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $160.15 and last traded at $158.87. Approximately 3,221,822 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 7,078,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PEP. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.33. The company has a market cap of $211.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.7% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.