Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.
According to Zacks, “PepsiCo reported second-quarter 2017 results with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.9% and 0.4%, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, core earnings and revenues grew 10% and 2%, respectively, defying the difficult global macro industry slowdown. The upside was primarily driven by higher pricing, partly offsetting the weak demand. Revenues increased 3.1% on an organic basis, primarily driven by higher demand in Latin America and Europe Sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, organic sales growth was higher than the 2.1% rise recorded in the previous quarter. The company also maintained its 2017 core EPS growth rate of 8% on 3% top-line growth, partly offset by 2% FX headwind for both EPS and revenues, echoing the ongoing macro challenges outside the U.S. Despite challenges, Pepsi has been doing well on the back of major innovation, ongoing revenue management strategies, improved productivity and better market execution.”
A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PEP. UBS AG upgraded Pepsico from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Vetr upgraded Pepsico from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $125.54 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Jefferies Group LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $133.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Pepsico in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. BidaskClub cut Pepsico from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, July 1st. Finally, J P Morgan Chase & Co restated an overweight rating on shares of Pepsico in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Pepsico has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $123.04.
Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) traded down 0.48% on Monday, hitting $116.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,979,760 shares. The company has a market cap of $165.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.02 and its 200-day moving average is $112.13. Pepsico has a 52-week low of $98.50 and a 52-week high of $118.24.
Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 11th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.57 billion. Pepsico had a return on equity of 59.74% and a net margin of 10.77%. Pepsico’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pepsico will post $5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. Pepsico’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.22%.
In related news, EVP Mehmood Khan sold 63,396 shares of Pepsico stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.39, for a total transaction of $7,378,660.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,283,634.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Indra K. Nooyi sold 452,830 shares of Pepsico stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total value of $52,727,525.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 733,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,387,198.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 856,675 shares of company stock worth $99,741,258 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Pepsico by 270.4% in the second quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pepsico by 66.1% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new position in shares of Pepsico during the fourth quarter valued at about $125,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Pepsico by 14.9% in the first quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pepsico during the first quarter valued at about $157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.
Pepsico Company Profile
PepsiCo, Inc is a global food and beverage company. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. The Company operates through six segments: Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), North America Beverages (NAB), Latin America, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), and Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA).
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