Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,370,000 shares, a decrease of 32.4% from the October 31st total of 24,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Keurig Dr Pepper Price Performance

NASDAQ:KDP traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.65. The stock had a trading volume of 4,642,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,265,329. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.63. Keurig Dr Pepper has a one year low of $28.61 and a one year high of $38.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 15.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Keurig Dr Pepper will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This is a boost from Keurig Dr Pepper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s payout ratio is 55.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KDP. Evercore ISI raised Keurig Dr Pepper to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.36.

Insider Activity

In other Keurig Dr Pepper news, major shareholder Bevco B.V. Jab sold 69,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total transaction of $2,252,850,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 214,443,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,001,592,649.35. This represents a 24.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 7.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 622,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,806,000 after purchasing an additional 41,466 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper during the third quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 26.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 237,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,916,000 after purchasing an additional 49,865 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 441.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 94,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 77,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,858,000. 85.23% 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.