PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PEP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $172.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $236.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $184.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,686,139,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,385 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 125.2% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,003,000 after buying an additional 1,523,631 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by 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.