PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,920,000 shares, a growth of 16.0% from the February 13th total of 18,040,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.45. The company had a trading volume of 11,497,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,419,152. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $149.04 and its 200-day moving average is $159.09.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Osprey Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is 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.