Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Citigroup from $182.00 to $170.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PEP. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. HSBC increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.95.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $142.27 on Thursday. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.99 and its 200-day moving average is $152.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Networth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2,857.1% during the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America lowered its price target on PepsiCo to $164 from $173, citing a slower-than-expected PFNA recovery and reinforcing a neutral stance on the stock. Bank of America lowers PepsiCo target to $164
• Negative Sentiment: A separate analyst note from Bank of America Securities also pointed to slower PFNA recovery as the reason for its target cut, which may weigh on sentiment around near-term growth expectations. TipRanks analyst note on PepsiCo target cut
• Positive Sentiment: Some recent commentary still sees PepsiCo as undervalued relative to long-term cash flow and earnings power, with articles arguing the stock has upside from current levels despite recent share weakness. Yahoo Finance valuation discussion
• Positive Sentiment: One bullish piece highlighted a path toward a higher share price over time based on World Cup activation, productivity savings, and other growth drivers, which could support long-term sentiment. 24/7 Wall St. bullish PepsiCo article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other headlines were largely business or brand-focused, including PepsiCo’s marketing tie-ins around Formula One and women’s sports, plus an APAC CEO interview about hiring and AI-era leadership. These are more informative than stock-moving in the near term. PepsiCo partnership discussion

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.