PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.92.

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $183.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 83,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,234,000 after purchasing an additional 6,187 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 4,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 19,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,315,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.1 %

PEP stock opened at $174.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.12. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $158.03 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $240.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

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.