PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price shot up 0.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $154.58 and last traded at $154.84. 1,927,836 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,012,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PEP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $213.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.