PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $156.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $168.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas cut their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $147.15 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.98 and a 200-day moving average of $159.41. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $201.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.