PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $140.67 and last traded at $142.88, with a volume of 3891237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PEP shares. HSBC dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.8 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $199.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.39.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 15.5% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 16,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. InvesTrust increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the first quarter. InvesTrust now owns 41,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.5% in the first quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 78,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,711,000 after acquiring an additional 12,406 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently 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.