PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Now Covered by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The firm set a $172.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 4.3 %

PepsiCo stock traded down $6.53 on Tuesday, hitting $143.74. 3,116,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,421,764. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $197.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.85. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.