PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price was up 1.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $160.15 and last traded at $158.87. Approximately 3,221,822 shares were traded during mid-day 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 brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. TD Cowen dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $211.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.33.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 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.