PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded down 1.4% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $132.50 and last traded at $133.50. 8,052,862 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 8,149,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.46.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s dividend yield is approximately 4.3%, nearly twice Coca-Cola’s 2.2%. Both companies are Dividend Kings with more than 50 consecutive years of payout increases, making PepsiCo attractive to income-focused investors, although Coca-Cola has delivered stronger share-price performance over the past year. Coca-Cola Yields Just 2.2% Compared to 4.3% for PepsiCo
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo and agricultural-equipment maker Grimme are developing a virtual potato harvester intended to improve potato quality, reduce crop waste and support growers. The initiative could help strengthen the company’s supply chain and control long-term input costs. Inside the Virtual Potato Harvester
• Positive Sentiment: One valuation analysis argues that PepsiCo may be trading below fair value after a choppy year, potentially offering downside protection if earnings stabilize. The company’s most recent reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighting PepsiCo as a long-standing consumer-staples dividend payer reinforce the defensive appeal of its portfolio, but they do not directly address the company’s slower growth or valuation risks. Consumer Staples Dividend Kings
• Negative Sentiment: A fire and explosion reportedly struck a PepsiCo Quaker Oats plant. Any resulting disruption, repair costs or lost production could pressure near-term operating results, although the financial impact was not specified. Fire, explosion strike PepsiCo Quaker Oats plant
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary says PepsiCo has lost focus in the cola competition and has underperformed Coca-Cola, contributing to investor concerns about brand momentum and management strategy. A report also disclosed a PepsiCo CEO stock sale worth about $4.1 million, which may weigh modestly on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A Lay’s packet-weight dispute could result in an ₹8,000 payout. The amount is immaterial financially but may add to reputational and product-labeling concerns. PepsiCo Faces Payout Over Lay’s Packet Weight Dispute
• Negative Sentiment: A PepsiCo soda flavor is reportedly being discontinued despite customer opposition, highlighting the risk of weaker product traction and possible consumer dissatisfaction.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, October 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.28.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.99. The company has a market capitalization of $181.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The business had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Pohlad purchased 184,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.28 per share, with a total value of $23,686,388.88. Following the purchase, the director owned 433,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,546,394.52. This represents a 74.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 491,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Networth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2,857.1% during the 1st quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company whose portfolio includes Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker, Tostitos, Fritos, and SodaStream. Its products span carbonated soft drinks, sports and energy beverages, bottled water, juices, convenient foods, snacks, and other packaged food offerings.

The company sells products through retail stores, restaurants, food-service providers, e-commerce platforms, and other distribution channels. PepsiCo serves consumers in North America and international markets across Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.