It appears as though shareholders in Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) can hit the snooze alarm and wait until next quarter to tune in again. The company has turned in yet another strong quarter.
As today's Fool by Numbers shows, the company turned in earnings-per-share growth of 14.8% and sales growth of 8.9%, while keeping its margins in line with last year's performance. Driving this quarter's strong growth: the international division, and food sales from Pepsi's Quaker Oats division. The international division's growth is an important development; the company generates a third of its sales from that group, though only a little more than a fifth of its operating profit.
So what's the news, you may ask? I've just helped establish what many of you already know--Pepsi is a fantastic business. What is really burning in investors' hearts and minds is the "reasonable price" question. With a trailing P/E of 22 and an expected growth rate of around 15% in earnings, Pepsi isn't going to meet anybody's definition of "dirt cheap." However, looking at Pepsi from multiple angles reveals a company that I believe is fairly valued to slightly overvalued.
The most glaring evidence? Pepsi's free cash flow, which was up 23% last year. In this most recent quarter, free cash flow was up nearly 75%. Free cash flow is often lumpy, but at Pepsi it has historically been strong. Given that fact, Pepsi maintains a conservative balance sheet with more cash on hand than long-term debt.
The final piece of Pepsi to love is its dividend. The yield is a bit smaller than that of its rival, Motley Fool Inside Value pick Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), and below what we typically look for in a Motley Fool Income Investor selection, but the rest of the business measures up. The near-2% yield is well-funded, leaving ample room for future dividend growth. More importantly, the company has a history of raising its dividend and returning cash to shareholders.
While I don't consider the shares cheap, I also don't see a five-year low-double-digit return as unreasonable when you consider the impact of the dividend and its continued growth. The chances of a market-beating return are even more likely for those investors who reinvest their dividends regularly.
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Nathan Parmelee loves Mountain Dew, except for the grape flavor. He has no financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has an iron-clad disclosure policy.
