PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on PEP. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. HSBC boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.50.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.04 and a 200-day moving average of $149.29.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $3,018,813,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14,420.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,863,893 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 19.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541,455 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott … Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.’s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.