PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $160.00. The stock had previously closed at $150.27, but opened at $146.10. PepsiCo shares last traded at $147.12, with a volume of 2,255,308 shares trading hands.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $3,116,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 21,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 5,750 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 206,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,453,000 after purchasing an additional 16,783 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Trading Down 4.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $196.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.71.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

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.