PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price traded up 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $175.27 and last traded at $175.04. 420,140 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 5,484,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. DZ Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $241.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.07.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 141.3% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.