PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PEP. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.83.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.02. The company had a trading volume of 817,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,105,121. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $224.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $3,018,813,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,420.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,726,000 after buying an additional 3,863,893 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 120.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 19.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo rolled its prebiotic soda out nationwide, signaling product innovation into the health-and-fiber beverage trend that can drive incremental category share and margins over time. PepsiCo’s prebiotic soda is now nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Marketing and distribution boost: Mountain Dew Baja Blast was named the official soft drink of MLB — a high-visibility partnership that should support volume and category relevance in spring/summer. Mountain Dew Baja Blast & MLB
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pushing into fiber and hydration (prebiotic cola, fiber snacks) as a sustained growth strategy — this product roadmap supports longer-term top-line diversification. PepsiCo bets on prebiotic cola and fiber snacks
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues creator-led and Gen?Z targeted product initiatives and highlights from CAGNY reinforce the company’s marketing playbook. These moves support brand momentum with younger consumers. Creator-led product launch
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend consistency remains a tailwind for income investors — PepsiCo paid its quarterly dividend and maintains a long streak of increases. Dividend coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Argus moved its rating to a “hold” — a modest analyst action that signals reduced upside expectations but is not a sell signal. Argus upgrade to hold (via Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events: transcripts and slides from PepsiCo’s CAGNY presentation are available; they provide management color but contained no major headline changes to guidance. CAGNY transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut multiple near-term quarterly EPS estimates and trimmed FY2027 expectations (notably lowering several Q1–Q4 and FY forecasts), which is the primary driver of downward pressure on the stock today. Zacks cuts to EPS estimates (MarketBeat summary)

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.