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

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,720,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the August 15th total of 16,120,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 16,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 3,345.6% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 179,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,391,000 after purchasing an additional 174,171 shares during the period. Marion Wealth Management lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 6.3% in the first quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 8,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 715,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,486,000 after buying an additional 11,485 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.53.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, hitting $176.81. 231,617 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,403,363. The firm has a market cap of $242.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.57. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.