PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target Lowered to $186.00 at UBS Group

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at UBS Group from $190.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.79.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.7%

PEP stock traded down $2.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,092,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,819,333. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $160.13 and a 200 day moving average of $150.77. The company has a market cap of $210.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.40. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $27,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at $27,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo dropped its sponsorship of a U.K. music festival headlined by Kanye West, a move that reduces short‑term reputational and consumer backlash risk and removes a potential distraction for the brand. PepsiCo Drops Its Sponsorship of Kanye West‑Headlined U.K. Music Fest
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo sold a New Jersey warehouse for $4.7M — a small, tidy asset disposition that slightly improves cash flow and shows portfolio pruning but is immaterial to overall results. PepsiCo sells NJ warehouse to family‑owned fire protection firm in $4.7M deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage notes (Zacks and others) continue to include PepsiCo as a steady-income, cash‑flow name, which supports investor interest in PEP as a defensive holding. Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Markets: Stride, InnovAge, PepsiCo in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage frames PepsiCo’s festival exit as raising questions about brand exposure and potential valuation impacts — this highlights investor focus on long‑term brand strategy rather than immediate financials. PepsiCo Festival Exit Puts Brand Risk And Valuation In Spotlight
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry context: articles on Coca‑Cola’s shift from pricing to volume recovery underscore the tougher macro/affordability backdrop for beverages and snacks — a sector headwind that affects PepsiCo’s pricing power. Can Coca‑Cola Balance Pricing, Affordability in Soft Macro Backdrop?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are reacting to intensified concerns about Frito‑Lay pricing strategy: recent price cuts have not restored customer demand and may signal broader pricing/elasticity problems in the snacks business, pressuring revenue and margin expectations. PepsiCo Stock (PEP) Slips as Frito‑Lay Price Cuts Fail to Please Customers
• Negative Sentiment: Follow‑up reporting says premium Doritos pricing (e.g., $7 bags) previously hurt volume and cost PepsiCo “billions,” underscoring that past overpricing and current cutbacks both risk damaging brand perception and longer‑term growth. Doritos at US$7 a bag ended up costing PepsiCo billions PepsiCo’s Frito‑Lay faces a Doritos pricing problem

About PepsiCo

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.