PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target Increased to $185.00 by Analysts at Barclays

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price target upped by Barclays from $184.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PEP. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.3 %

PEP traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $176.16. 2,581,734 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,830,987. The company’s 50 day moving average is $169.22 and its 200-day moving average is $167.76. The company has a market cap of $242.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.