Bank of America Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by investment analysts at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. They presently have a $155.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.61% from the stock’s previous close.

PEP has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.12.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.39. 536,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,064,217. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $138.33 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $199.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.