PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $170.1053.

PEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $149.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $154.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $204.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.32%.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight PepsiCo’s portfolio reset, pricing power, and innovation in zero-sugar, functional, and “better-for-you” snacks and drinks as potential growth drivers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo India plans to invest Rs 5,700 crore through 2030 to expand capacity, which could support long-term growth in an important international market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: At the annual meeting, shareholders elected David W. Gibbs to the board and rejected proposals for an independent board chair and additional human-rights and animal-welfare reporting, suggesting governance issues remain in focus but are not a major near-term catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing PepsiCo with Coca-Cola underscores that PEP is working to balance pricing power and distribution scale against margin pressure from higher input and operating costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say PepsiCo plans to raise prices on some smaller chip bags because of higher production, distribution, and retail expenses in the U.S., which may raise concerns about volume softness if consumers push back. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly cut its price target on PepsiCo to $160, adding to the cautious tone around near-term margins and execution. Article Title

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

About PepsiCo

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.