PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Upgraded to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a $164.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.38% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.25.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $144.64 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.97. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $160.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 80,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,978 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 372,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,375,000 after buying an additional 3,730 shares in the last quarter. Stillwater Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $308,000. Finally, Tevis Investment Management boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 9,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.