Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price rose 1.8% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $27.86 and last traded at $27.68. Approximately 17,334,535 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 42,279,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.18.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.07%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 466.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 583,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,191,000 after purchasing an additional 73,183 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 99,057 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 17,127 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 26,491 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in Pfizer by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 142,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 7,782 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 200,241 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 25,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.8 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.87 and its 200 day moving average is $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $156.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.63.

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.