PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0% – Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price shot up 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $151.05 and last traded at $150.75. 2,004,125 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,340,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.76.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares during the last quarter. 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.