PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a neutral rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $174.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.07. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $157.43 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $239.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Iams Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 4.1% during the third quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.2% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 152,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,964,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 204.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 41,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,003,000 after buying an additional 27,643 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.9% during the third quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.