Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.58 and last traded at $23.45. Approximately 6,965,677 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 40,851,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.00. The company has a market cap of $132.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 114,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.