PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPGet Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $187.77.

A number of equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $203.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th.

View Our Latest Stock Report on PepsiCo

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $163.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $224.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEPGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 21,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $551,000. Gerber LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 51,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slagle Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 27,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,647,000 after purchasing an additional 13,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.40% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)

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