PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.47.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEP. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% during the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54.

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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.