Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) to "Strong-Buy"

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Keurig Dr Pepper from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised Keurig Dr Pepper from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $39.00 price objective on Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.

Keurig Dr Pepper Stock Performance

Shares of KDP traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,130,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,039,998. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Keurig Dr Pepper has a 12 month low of $30.12 and a 12 month high of $38.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.18.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Keurig Dr Pepper had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 15.04%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Keurig Dr Pepper's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Keurig Dr Pepper's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mary Beth Denooyer sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.59, for a total transaction of $427,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 154,511 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,046.49. This represents a 7.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bevco B.V. Jab sold 83,950,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total transaction of $2,740,967,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 134,113,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,378,805,089.35. This trade represents a 38.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,421,350 shares of company stock worth $2,757,137,010. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 138,923 shares of the company's stock worth $4,754,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 338,339 shares of the company's stock worth $11,578,000 after purchasing an additional 10,758 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 19,854 shares of the company's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 4,082.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 172,181 shares of the company's stock worth $5,892,000 after purchasing an additional 8,563 shares during the period. 93.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc owns, manufactures, and distributors beverages and single serve brewing systems in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Refreshment Beverages, U.S. Coffee, and International. The U.S. Refreshment Beverages segment manufactures and distributes branded concentrates, syrup, and finished beverages.