PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PEP. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DZ Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $174.81 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $240.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $157.43 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RMB Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 48,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,177,000 after purchasing an additional 7,726 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 812.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 2,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, Orleans Capital Management Corp LA lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA now owns 10,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PepsiCo

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.