Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Pfizer Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from eighteen brokerage firms, with variations in ratings from sell to strong buy. The average twelve-month price target among analysts is $28.12.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.78 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a revenue increase of 10.3% compared to the same period last year.
• Pfizer announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 6.8%, with a payout ratio of **91.49%**.

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.1176.

PFE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic reduced their target price on Pfizer from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.2%

PFE opened at $25.16 on Friday. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $30.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $143.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 91.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 13,228 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,817,000 after acquiring an additional 17,032 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,283,000. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 31,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 13,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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