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

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $168.12.

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $142.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.14. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $138.33 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $195.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,017,000 after acquiring an additional 4,564,723 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.