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

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $169.88.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $145.45 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.22. The stock has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. 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 released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after purchasing an additional 870,451 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,031,000 after purchasing an additional 61,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.