StockNews.com Upgrades PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to “Buy”

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PEP. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2 %

PEP traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.79. 4,442,589 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,469,759. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $158.03 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.23. The firm has a market cap of $236.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is 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.