Short Interest in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Expands By 16.1%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,720,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the August 15th total of 16,120,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 141.3% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $177.21. The company had a trading volume of 4,703,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,431,085. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $243.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.