Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was up 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.52 and last traded at $26.39. Approximately 13,707,547 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 37,743,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFE. Citigroup decreased their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $484,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 69,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 6,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gould Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.