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 research report report published on Wednesday.

PEP has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a neutral rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $174.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $173.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.64. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $157.43 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $239.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 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 business had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Iams Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 152,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 204.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 41,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,003,000 after acquiring an additional 27,643 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is 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.