Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares traded up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.98 and last traded at $28.90. 3,329,748 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 36,765,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.91.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $161.95 billion, a PE ratio of -481.67, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.48.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,800.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 26,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 2.1% during the first quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.6% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 58,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.8% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 42,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.