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

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $158.75.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. DZ Bank upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $148.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.02. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $160.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $202.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Claris Advisors LLC MO boosted its position in PepsiCo by 14.1% in the second quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 46.4% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after acquiring an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.