PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,000,000 shares, a drop of 22.9% from the January 15th total of 22,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PEP traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.39. The stock had a trading volume of 4,999,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,619,325. The firm has a market cap of $196.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.80 and its 200 day moving average is $163.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.