PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $152.33, but opened at $147.55. PepsiCo shares last traded at $149.04, with a volume of 1,304,224 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.29. The stock has a market cap of $203.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $693,000. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $425,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.