PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PEP. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.50.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8%

PEP stock opened at $159.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,018,813,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 14,420.2% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,726,000 after buying an additional 3,863,893 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 120.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 9.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,833,406,000 after buying an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 19.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541,455 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott … Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.’s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.