PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price traded up 1.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $145.40 and last traded at $144.70. 1,853,485 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 5,963,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $193.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. 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.