PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give PepsiCo an average rating of Hold from 20 firms (1 sell, 11 hold, 8 buy) with a one-year average price target of $170.26, while some firms have recently raised or trimmed targets (e.g., Citigroup to $182, UBS to $186).
• PepsiCo beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.61 vs. $1.55; revenue $19.44B vs. $18.89B) and set FY2026 guidance at $8.465–$8.628 EPS, supporting the upbeat sell-side commentary on organic growth and momentum.
• The company authorized a $10.0 billion share repurchase program, pays an annualized dividend of $5.69 (yield ~3.6%), and is heavily institutionally owned (~73%), though its dividend payout ratio is elevated (~89%).

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.2632.

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 138.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company's stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company's stock worth $70,789,000 after purchasing an additional 167,707 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted price targets across several outlets, signaling renewed bullishness from the sell-side and supporting upside vs. current levels. Price Target Raised to $176.00
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights PepsiCo’s Q1 beat, innovation-driven organic growth and management initiatives (food/pricing changes), which underpin revenue momentum and justify higher targets. PepsiCo's innovations propel Q1 2026 earnings beat and organic growth
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo Foods North America is “to play offense” — suggesting aggressive merchandising, pricing and product moves to capture market share in snacks and improve growth. PepsiCo Foods North America ‘to play offense’
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary and retail-focused articles note that falling snack prices have helped volume and sales mix, supporting top-line recovery and dividend-stability narratives. As Its Snack Prices Fall, PepsiCo's Stock Is Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other screens included PEP among highlighted stocks, which can attract momentum flows but doesn’t guarantee sustained performance. Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/attractiveness pieces note the stock’s recent strength and multi-year returns — useful for longer-term allocation decisions but mixed for near-term trading. Is PepsiCo (PEP) Still Attractive After Recent Share Price Strength?
• Negative Sentiment: GURU Organic Energy filed a $15M lawsuit alleging breach of distribution agreement and misuse of confidential info; litigation risk could create near-term legal expense, distraction and reputational noise. GURU Organic Energy Files $15 Million Lawsuit Against Pepsi

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $156.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $214.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.82. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.62 EPS 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.32%.

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.

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