PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $167.24 and last traded at $167.24. 546,220 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 5,442,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently 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.