PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 3.2% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price shot up 3.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $159.69 and last traded at $159.33. 2,300,312 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 5,437,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

PepsiCo Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.90 and its 200 day moving average is $160.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $425,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.