Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.29.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $146.88 on Tuesday. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $146.10 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $201.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.04 and its 200-day moving average is $167.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,676 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.