Barclays Cuts PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target to $154.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $160.00 to $154.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

PEP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore raised their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $176.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.16.

PepsiCo Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $158.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $216.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.05 and its 200-day moving average is $151.46. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,356,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,970 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after purchasing an additional 360,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,646,000 after purchasing an additional 295,955 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — PepsiCo reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results (EPS and revenue above consensus) and posted year-over-year revenue growth, giving investors confidence the recovery is real. PepsiCo tops quarterly revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Price cuts driving volumes — Management said targeted price reductions (up to ~15% on brands like Lay’s and Doritos) helped win back shoppers and produced the first North America food volume growth in over two years — a key driver of the stock move. PepsiCo revenues soar after slashing prices
• Positive Sentiment: Product and brand initiatives — Broader momentum from energy drinks, Gatorade repositioning and new product refreshes complement the pricing action and support revenue upside beyond just snacks. Bloomberg: PepsiCo sales and profit top estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market context — Analysts and outlets flagged bullish price action and technical support that point toward further upside, which can amplify short-term gains as momentum traders join. PepsiCo Stock Reversal Points Toward New All-Time Highs
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance nuance — While management stuck to its FY26 outlook, the company’s updated guidance bands (EPS and revenue ranges) sit close to or slightly below some consensus figures, which raises questions about how much growth is already priced in. Earnings Snapshot: PepsiCo tops Q1 estimates; reaffirms FY26 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and inflation risk — The price cuts that revived demand could compress margins versus prior levels, and management cautioned inflationary pressures remain a risk—factors investors will watch as volumes recover. NYT: Despite Iran War’s Effects, PepsiCo Says Consumers Still Spending on Snacks

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.