Short Interest in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Decreases By 29.7%

by · The Cerbat Gem

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 20,841,738 shares, a decrease of 29.7% from the February 12th total of 29,665,371 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,750,807 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,750,807 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore upped their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on PEP

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,672,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,509,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,554,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 122.6% in the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 11.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,947 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.

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