PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Rating Lowered to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $170.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $171.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.60% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $148.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $203.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.29.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% during the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is 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.