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 research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PEP opened at $169.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.29. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $158.03 and a 12-month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in PepsiCo by 59.0% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.